


The Anthem of a Man in Green

by Emme2589



Series: Luigi's Mansion 3 Retold [2]
Category: Luigi's Mansion (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Mario Bros. (Video Games)
Genre: Angst, Blood, Brotherly Love, Eventual Romance, F/M, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Major Character Injury, Mild Language, Mutual Pining, Near Death Experiences, Nightmares, Pain, Panic Attacks, Poisoning, Slow Burn, Vomiting, and a nap, gooigi doesn't deserve anything i've put him through, i can't help myself sometimes, luigi needs a vacation, mario is supportive, polterpup is a very good boy, yes luigi and peach will eventually kiss shhhhh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-21
Updated: 2020-05-28
Packaged: 2021-03-03 04:41:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 15
Words: 31,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24299035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emme2589/pseuds/Emme2589
Summary: Ever since Luigi gained a little brother in Gooigi, he has begun to realize how much it bothers him when he goes unappreciated.And what are these feelings he can't seem to shake?
Relationships: Luigi/Princess Peach, Mentioned Princess Daisy/Pauline (Nintendo), Peach-hime | Peach Toadstool/Luigi (Nintendo)
Series: Luigi's Mansion 3 Retold [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1754224
Comments: 16
Kudos: 50





	1. Chapter 1

_He was trying to get away, but he just couldn't run fast enough. King Boo was gaining on him. He was running faster. His senses were dulled, and yet everything seemed to reverberate off the walls and inside his head._

_He happened upon a figure on the floor, and he recognized who it was._

_Luigi._

_He fell to his knees. Luigi was dead. His eyes were white, glassy and lifeless, and his shirt was torn open, revealing a massive gash full of blood._

_His body began to melt._

_Against his better judgement, he lifted Luigi's body. His hands melted. He shook him. He cried and screamed. He kept melting._

_He forgot about the one who was following him._

_"He makes a beautiful picture, don't you think?"_

Gooigi flew out of his jar, tumbling to the floor. He didn't register the ceiling in the darkness at first, but then the details became apparent. Cream-colored wallpaper, baby blue bed sheets, a wooden dresser and tall armoire. He was in the Mario brother's guest room.

He collected himself as he stood up on wobbly legs. What was that? A misplaced memory? A hallucination? He couldn't explain what on earth he had just experienced.

He sat on the bed as he tried to think. Luigi had woken up in the middle of the night a few times, and he explained that he'd had a "nightmare", or an experience in your sleep that left you shaken, sometimes even after you were ripped back to consciousness. Gooigi had dreams sometimes, but he'd never had a nightmare before.

What could he do? He couldn't go back to sleep like this. He didn't want to be alone. He was scared.

After some time, he stood up and wandered into the hallway.

Luigi's room was right next to the guest room. Gooigi strode up to it, but then he hovered in front of it, tracing the wood grain on the painted white door.

He was lonely. He was scared. But...was this really worth bothering Luigi over?

After a few minutes of anxious deliberation, Gooigi lifted a shaky hand and knocked.

There was a bit of rustling and creaking from inside the room, some soft footsteps, and then the door opened, revealing a sleepy Luigi in 1-up pajamas.

"Gooigi?" he rubbed his eye, "It's the middle of the night. Is something wrong?"

Gooigi rocked back and forth on his heels, rubbing his arm in shame.

Luigi opened his door wider, "Did you have a nightmare?"

Gooigi hesitated, but after a few seconds, he nodded.

"Oh." Luigi stepped aside, "Come on in."

Luigi's room had green wallpaper, white carpet, and a cork board with photos on it from his various adventures. His bedsheets were also green, though the pillow and top sheet were white.

Luigi closed the door before he sat on the bed, "Come here."

Gooigi sat beside him. He noticed that he didn't sink into the mattress as far as Luigi did. He noticed a lot of things like that these days. Things that made him different.

Luigi put an arm around him, "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Gooigi leaned into him, giving him a big hug.

"Yeah, I usually don't like talking about my nightmares either." Luigi gazed at the streak of moonlight across his bedroom floor, "I'm sorry you got spooked so badly. Did you just not want to be alone?"

Gooigi nodded.

"I see. That's okay. I don't mind staying up with you."

Gooigi let his head rest against Luigi's. He didn't wear his hat to bed, in fact Gooigi could see it on the nightstand, beside his flashlight, the embroidered "L" facing towards the center of the room. Gooigi's hat was a part of his body, so he didn't bother removing it. He only noticed that Luigi wasn't wearing the hat because it exposed the top of his head, and Gooigi could smell something on it that he didn't recognize.

He scooted away from Luigi, his head tilting curiously.

"What's up, Gooigi?"

Gooigi tapped his nose with one finger, then pointed to Luigi's hair.

"Hm? Oh! You smell my hair?" Luigi smiled, inwardly remarking that Gooigi was like a child in some ways, "Yeah, that's the smell of my shampoo."

Gooigi stared at him.

"You know, soap for your hair. The hotel was full of those little complimentary bottles in the bathrooms, remember?"

Gooigi nodded slowly. He did recall the bottles of soap, but he didn't know they had a special name.

"The people who make soap are always adding fragrances to them because people like to smell a certain way." Luigi continued, "In fact, it's not isolated to shampoo or hand soap. If you've ever noticed that our clothes smell a certain way coming out of the wash, that's the laundry detergent."

Gooigi nodded more enthusiastically this time, satisfied with the answer.

"Alright. Well..." Luigi gave Gooigi's shoulder a squeeze, "You ready to go back to sleep?"

Gooigi pressed his hands to his chest, fiddling with the gooy buttons on his overalls.

"Hm..." Luigi snapped his fingers, climbing down from the bed to reach underneath it. Hooking his arm beneath the wooden supports, he yanked it out, and a second bed emerged, sliding across the carpet until it was all the way out.

Gooigi inspected it as Luigi stood up and dusted off his hands, "I keep this around in case Mario ever wants to spend the night. There's one in his room, too."

Gooigi slid down from Luigi's bed to land on the new one, noting the smell of dust that clung to it.

"Of course, now we might need to get a third one since we have a third brother now."

Gooigi couldn't help the elation he felt whenever he heard that. Brother. He was Luigi's brother. He was alive and he had a family.

"Anyway, is it alright?" Luigi tried to smooth the comforter down to rid it of wrinkles, "We have extra blankets in the-!"

The wind was knocked out of him when Gooigi squeezed his torso, his head in his shoulder.

"Heheh." Luigi hugged him back, "You're welcome."

Gooigi stayed like that for a couple minutes, listening to Luigi's steady breathing. Only living people could breathe. It was something he told himself when he was worried someone he cared about was hurt. As long as they were breathing, they were alive.

It chased his nightmare away, steadily bringing him to a state of calm.

When he pulled away, he was drooping.

Luigi smiled at him, "You ready to go back to sleep?"

Gooigi answered by climbing under the covers of the floor bed, feeling the way the pillow caved under his weight.

Luigi returned to his own, stepping around the foot of the bed, "Now, Gooigi, I'm right here. If you have another nightmare, feel free to wake me up, okay?"

And with that, he yawned, rolling over to go back to sleep.

Gooigi was drowsy enough that he didn't quite hear the last part. He drifted off feeling safe, the ceiling fading to green as it disappeared from his vision.

***

Luigi had forgotten about the previous night until he registered the smell of copper. He huffed out a laugh before he stretched, sitting up to evaluate his guest.

Gooigi lost his form when he wasn't conscious, so he had become a puddle on the surface of the mattress. It was why he normally slept in the jar, since it was easier to retain his form if he was already together. Being a puddle while he slept wasn't a super big deal, it just meant he was drowsy for longer in the morning because of the way his consciousness was stretched thin all night. At least he never seeped into the mattress when he was asleep. Goo naturally stuck to itself, so unless he fell asleep on a grate or something, he would mostly stay intact.

Luigi's true fear was someone who didn't know any better seeing this and trying to use water to mop him up. Not much could kill Gooigi, but being put through the wash would certainly do the trick. Luigi shivered at the thought.

Getting out of bed carefully so as not to disturb the sleeping puddle, Luigi headed to his dresser to get a change of clothes, including clean boxers, gloves, and socks. He had to get up early if he didn't want to wait an hour for Mario to get out of the bathroom.

As he showered and dressed, he found himself thinking about Gooigi. He was actually already awake when Gooigi knocked on his door last night. He had woken up in a cold sweat, but he couldn't figure out why. He hadn't had a nightmare as far as he remembered, he certainly didn't feel scared.

He didn't dwell on it. It was already 8:30, so he returned to his room to get his shoes before heading to the kitchen.

It was about an hour later when Gooigi came stumbling into the kitchen, sitting at the counter with even more pronounced jello physics than normal.

Luigi put the rest of the clean dishes away, "You sleep well?"

Gooigi groaned.

"Haha! Don't worry. I'll have a jar ready for you next time." Luigi closed the dishwasher, "Anywhere else you want to get photos in the Mushroom Kingdom?"

Gooigi's head flopped into the counter.

"Okay okay, I'll give you time to wake up."

Once Mario was out of the shower, he and Luigi got into a conversation that Gooigi wasn't actually paying attention to. What he did notice was that outside of life-or-death situations, Luigi was always smiling. His default emotion was happiness, not fear. Although it didn't bother Gooigi of course, it really shocked him that Luigi was such a happy person. He was optimistic, too, unlike his undying pessimism when he was in the hotel. What else had Gooigi missed about him because he was fighting for his life?

"I know! That overgrown turtle needs to learn to take a hint!" Luigi laughed, clutching his stomach, "Anyway, I'll see you in a bit!"

"Bye, Luigi!" Mario waved as he left, "Bye, Gooigi!"

The door closed behind him, and Gooigi looked to Luigi for an explanation.

"Mario's going to the castle to see the Princess. She invited him over for lunch."

Gooigi pointed to him, making a questioning sound.

"Yeah, I go sometimes." Luigi took his gloves off and washed his hands at the kitchen sink, "Sometimes I go alone, sometimes both of us are invited. Today, Mario's going alone." he gasped softly, "That gives me an idea! We haven't been over to the castle since the hotel crisis, I bet it'll be the perfect place to take pictures!"

Gooigi warbled thoughtfully, his hand on his chin.

"Anyway, I have a few more chores left to finish, so I'll wrap that up before we go, okay?"

Gooigi nodded, hopping down from the bar stool to head to the living room. Most of the chores involved using water, so Gooigi naturally couldn't be involved, but he did try to help out wherever he could. Luigi had said that he didn't have to worry about any of it since he was technically a guest, but Gooigi had argued that if Luigi was going to call him his brother, he should treat him like a brother too. That shut him up, and they didn't argue about the subject again.

Gooigi lay on the couch as he waited, listening to dishes hit against each other from the kitchen. Since they had gotten out of the hotel, Mario and Luigi had taken him everywhere, from wide sandy beaches and impressive deserts to giant mountains, clouds, tundras, Gooigi was overwhelmed by how much he had left to see, and he ran out of film several times while trying to get pictures of everything. Because of this, he had five photo albums, three at the brothers' house, and two in his room at the Gloomy Manor. Luigi always joked that he and E. Gadd had joint custody of Gooigi, though he didn't understand what that meant until it was explained to him.

Gooigi's train of thought was interrupted by a sharp stab of alarm in the back of his head, accompanied by pain in his finger. He looked at his left hand, but there was no sign of injury. Even if there was, he was unfamiliar with this kind of pain. It almost felt like...

He leapt from the couch to hurry towards the kitchen.

Luigi was at the counter, setting down a knife while scrutinizing his left index finger. A drop of blood had appeared on his skin.

Gooigi ran to him, dizzy at the sight of blood. Luigi was hurt. Luigi was bleeding. _Luigi was hurt Luigi was hurt LUIGI WAS HURT LUIGI WAS-!_

"Oh no, Gooigi! It's okay! I'm fine!" Luigi was quick to comfort him, "I swear, it's just a small cut."

Gooigi took Luigi's hand, careful not to touch the wound.

_"Yoouu're hhurrt."_

Luigi blinked, not used to hearing Gooigi's voice form words.

"Yeah, I'm hurt, but it's okay. I'll just put a bandage on it." Luigi rinsed the cut off in the sink, "It'll heal in a few days."

Gooigi still seemed unsure, so Luigi gestured that he should follow him as he headed towards the bathroom. He turned on the light, opening the medicine cabinet to retrieve the first aid kit. He set it on the edge of the sink and opened it up, resting the lid on the bathroom mirror, before taking a bandage and a bottle labelled, "First Aid: Disinfectant." Gooigi recognized this. He knew first aid from the professor's training, and Luigi knew that. Why had he panicked so badly seeing him with such a minor injury? Did it have something to do with the feeling he had earlier? His nightmare from the previous night?

Luigi smiled humorously as Gooigi hid his face, "Hey, no worries, bro. Happens to the best of us. If you can believe it, I used to do the same to Mario if he had so much as a scratch."

Once Luigi had the bandage on his finger, he put everything away and closed the cabinet, "Come on. I still need to finish making my breakfast. We'll leave as soon as I eat."

***


	2. Chapter 2

Curse his lack of foresight! Of course Gooigi would panic seeing him with even a minor injury! His only other context for seeing blood was watching a man bleed to death! Luigi mentally kicked himself as he left the house with Gooigi. He would have to be more careful from now on. Explain more things before they happened. He wouldn't think of everything of course, but if he had explained that people can actually lose quite a bit of blood before being at risk for death, Gooigi wouldn't have panicked as badly as he did.

And he didn't even cut himself because of any excusable reason, he had just let his mind wander. How embarrassing.

Gooigi tapped his shoulder, snapping him from his train of thought, "Oh, what's up?"

Overtime, Gooigi had learned basic sign language to aid in communication. He usually didn't need it, but you could only get so far using gestures and a warbling inflection. After making it clear he was about to sign, Gooigi used the alphabet to spell out a short sentence, giving a little under a second for each to make sure Luigi didn't miss a letter.

"'What's a castle?'" he repeated back, waiting for Gooigi's nod. When he received it, he grinned, "Oh, you'll see when we get there. Trust me. You'll love it."

Gooigi had already seen so much, and yet he was astounded by how much he still had to learn. He had thought the hotel was massive, and yet it was nothing compared to what lay beyond it. The world, no, the universe seemed like it went on forever. What more could impress him now that he had seen so much?

Luigi thought back to when he had first met Gooigi. It seemed that he had the ability to understand and speak English even less than a day after he got to the hotel.

Luigi tapped Gooigi's shoulder as the two of them entered Toad Town, _"Parli Italiano?"_

Gooigi gave him a blank stare.

"Ah. That answers my question." Luigi laughed as Gooigi continued to stare, "I said 'Do you speak Italian?'"

Gooigi slowly nodded, but still seemed confused.

"Most people here speak English." Luigi explained, "It's the language I'm speaking right now. Our parents spoke Italian since they're from Italy, so they taught us how to speak it too. I didn't expect you to know it, there's no reason for you to know it, but I thought I'd ask anyway."

Luigi came upon the gate to the castle, but the Toad standing guard there stopped him, "Whoa, Luigi! Are you taking that _thing_ in here with you?"

Luigi felt his mouth fall open, "Guard Toad! You can't talk about Gooigi like that! Where are your manners!?"

The toad gave Gooigi a sideways glance, and Gooigi looked away, uncomfortable.

"Well...okay. If you trust it... _them..._ then so do I."

"Thank you." Luigi continued on when the gate opened, _"Honestly. Maybe see that he's clearly not attacking anyone before you assume."_

Gooigi laughed a little at the comment, but he was clearly still uncomfortable.

Luigi took his hand, "Hey, don't worry about him. I expected that to happen at least once. People here are used to getting attacked, so it makes sense for them to be on edge with someone so unfamiliar to them. Most people who live here trust me and Mario, though, so if they see that we're friendly with you, they'll pick up on that."

It put him at ease at least somewhat, but he was still a tad nervous.

"Here we are." Luigi paused on the path, "Did you bring your camera?"

Gooigi nodded until his eyes landed on the building before him. A massive brick building with four towering spires, stained glass windows, five pink roofs, and an entire garden surrounding it. It also had a moat with a bridge, and a fountain, which the two of them were standing in front of.

_"Wwhoooaa!"_ Gooigi marvelled. It was the most magnificent building he'd ever seen.

"Hey, Green Man!"

Luigi lifted his hand for a high five, "Toadette! How goes the project?"

"It's going swimmingly!" the toad in question was pink, with two chains of spores down her head that looked like pigtail braids, "Far better than I expected! And by the way, it's _'Chief'_ to you!"

"Oh, my mistake." Luigi took his hat off for an exaggerated mock bow, "Great Chief Toadette of Princess Peach's Court."

"Oh, haha. You're hilarious." Toadette rolled her eyes, "Who's that?"

Luigi started at her sudden bafflement, "Oh, this is Gooigi. I've told you about him, haven't I?"

"Oh, yeah. You have." Toadette smiled brightly, "Nice to meet you, Gooigi!"

Gooigi waved, but said nothing.

"Not much of a talker, is he? No worries! I'm used to that!"

"Yeah, because you talk over everyone, including your workers."

"Shut up, Green Man! You know what I mean!" she stomped her feet on the ground, but she retained her pouty smile, "Anyway, I have to get back to work! Enjoy your visit to my new and improved castle!"

"Will do, Chief." Luigi watched her go before turning back to his protégé, "So, what looks interesting to you? We should probably head east first before the sun is too high in the sky, but it's your call."

Gooigi pointed after Toadette, not sure how to communicate what he wanted to ask.

"Curious about Toadette? The two of us are pretty good friends, and we like to tease each other." Luigi waved him over, and the pair started walking, "Notice how she was calling me 'Green Man'? That's how I know she was okay with my teasing. As soon as she calls me 'Luigi', that's my cue to knock it off and be serious. It's a pretty good system, and it works most of the time. I have a few other friends who do the same thing, although I don't have that system with Mario because we're good enough at reading each other that we don't need it."

_"Aah."_ Gooigi was fascinated by that. He'd never seen friendly banter before.

He paused as they passed the bridge to the moat, already planning what shots he wanted so as not to waste film.

"Like I said." Luigi held his hand out in a sweeping gesture, "It's your call."

***

Once Gooigi was satisfied with the photos he had, he plopped down on a bench in Peach's garden to figure out their placement. He was so engrossed in his task that by the time he looked up, it took him a second to find Luigi again. He was wandering over to the tamed piranha plants, approaching them slowly and cautiously.

The piranhas made no move to attack him, though. They weren't even interested in him. They only looked up when his shadow fell over them, and even then they simply noted his presence and went back to passively looking for any wandering bugs that might cross their path. Gooigi found it amusing that Luigi would approach them at all considering he didn't seem to like them, so he simply watched as Luigi inspected the rows of docile flowers.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!"

Luigi snapped his head up, the flowers completely forgotten, "Princess!"

Gooigi stashed his album before bolting to wherever he'd heard the scream. He was hit with a blast of wind, the sound of propellers deafening as it had broken the peaceful silence from before.

"HELP ME!"

Luigi grabbed Gooigi's arm as he ran into the castle, _"Come on!"_

They headed up the stairs towards the dining room, where Mario was reaching out like Peach was just snatched out of his hands. He jumped off the windowsill, but a blast sent him flying back into the room.

Gooigi reacted first, catching Mario out of the air and using his goo to cushion the blow.

Mario opened his eyes, astounded at his lack of injury until he saw who caught him, "Oh. Thank you, Gooigi."

He helped him stand, and all three of them headed towards the destroyed window. Peach was on a giant airship, standing beside a massive koopa that they knew very well.

"Mario!" Peach called, "Help me!"

_"Peach!"_ Mario was about to go after her again, but the airship flew away too quickly to react.

Luigi jumped from the window to the grass below, "Come on! We have to follow him!"

Mario jumped down immediately, but Gooigi hesitated at the destroyed wall.

"Gooigi?" Luigi spread his arms out towards him, "Do you wanna come with us?"

Gooigi looked out towards the place on the horizon where the airship had disappeared to.

He nodded before he jumped down, and the three of them headed off to save the princess.

***


	3. Chapter 3

Luigi couldn't help but feel sick as he ran as fast as he could towards the rapidly-receding airship. It wasn't the first time Peach had been kidnapped by Bowser, but the issue this time was the fact that there were no theatrics. Bowser was a flashy villain, so the fact that he simply showed up and then left with little fanfare made alarm bells go off in his head. Plus, Gooigi had never faced off against Bowser before. He only hoped he would be okay.

Eventually, the airship had completely disappeared, and the three of them came to a stop so Mario and Luigi could catch their breath.

Mario straightened up, a hand on his chest, "Was that really him?"

Luigi removed his hat to scratch his head, opening his mouth to speak, but something stole his breath before he could say anything and all that escaped him was a slow wheeze.

Gooigi nudged him, gurgling in concern.

"Luigi?" Mario said, "You okay?"

Luigi nodded, "Yeah, um, fine. Fine." he shook the jitters away, "Come on. We need to catch up with Bowser."

A familiar tone rang out in the silence, and Gooigi pat himself down until he found a small electronic device, sticking it in his ear before answering.

_"Gooigi! You need to get back here quick! Paranormal sightings in Koopa Kingdom!"_

Luigi had a sensation of his soul leaving his body. Could it be?

"I..." Luigi steadied his nerves, "I'd better go with you."

Gooigi retrieved the tiny TV from the depths of his pockets, expanding it until it was big enough to climb through, and Mario and Luigi followed close behind.

The TV led to the lab in the Gloomy Manor. It was riddled with trash, mostly crumpled paper and sticky notes, various electronics, five identical Poltergusts, and a chalkboard with scribbled ramblings on it. Luigi felt a chill wash over him as a greeny passed by, carrying a broom and dustpan. He didn't care that they were friendly with the Dark Moon in the sky, ghosts still gave him the creeps.

"Ah, there you are!" E. Gadd was distracted by his computer screen, "It's remarkable! The readings are practically off the charts! The ghosts in the area must have a strong signature to be able to-!"

It was then he finally noticed the brothers. Luigi gave a nervous wave with an equally nervous laugh.

"Luigi! Mario!" E. Gadd spun his chair in a circle, "It's good to see you boys again! What have you been up to? Staying out of trouble?"

"Look, we aren't in the mood for this." Mario took a step to partially shield the other two from the old scientist, "We just need to get our friend back. What's the status on the Koopa Kingdom?"

"Alright, I'll tell you." E. Gadd shifted in his chair as he once again faced the computer screen, "The ghosts in the area have a powerful signature. If your friend is in there, then they're in huge trouble. For this occasion, I've upgraded the Poltergust G-00 to hold more ghosts!"

Gooigi warbled in shock, getting close to E. Gadd so he could see him sign.

"You're right, Gooigi. Upgrades take time." E. Gadd replied, "This ghost invasion has been going on for awhile. The signals indicated nothing unusual, but I still had a bad feeling about it, so that's why I was able to have time to upgrade."

Gooigi crossed his arms, his blank stare a little more piercing than usual. Luigi was confused about what could have caused such a response, until he noticed E. Gadd fiddling with his lab coat, a nervous habit that indicated a specific kind of nervousness.

E. Gadd was lying.

"Okay okay, fine! The invasion has been going on a long time!" the old scientist finally caved, "It wasn't as bad as it is now, but you're right! I should have called you sooner! But come on! This is _Bowser_ we're talking about! Most of the time, the boos are allied with him! And I didn't want to call you while you were with the brothers if it turned out to be nothing! I know how much your visits mean to you!"

Gooigi made a choking noise, like a sob.

"Hey now, come here."

Gooigi gratefully accepted E. Gadd's hug. It was comical, Luigi thought. E. Gadd was incredibly short, but his chair was tall enough that Gooigi could stand up straight to hug him. If E. Gadd was on the floor, Gooigi would probably have to kneel down to reach.

"Oof!" E. Gadd laughed, "Luigi, why'd you have to teach him to hug?"

Luigi rubbed the back of his neck, laughing along but internally deadpan, "Um...sorry?"

"Luigi's a very cuddly person." Mario explained, a soft smile on his face, "He'd probably accept a hug from anyone, if offered."

"Hey, that's not true!" Luigi said, "I wouldn't accept a hug from, say, Bowser!"

"Yeah, because Bowser is our enemy." Mario's brow lifted, "Would you accept a hug from Bowser if he was our friend?"

Luigi opened his mouth, but then he closed it. He didn't want to admit that if he wasn't afraid of getting burnt to a crisp, he would indeed accept a hug from Bowser.

"Anyhoo..." E. Gadd held Gooigi out at arms' length, "If you'll allow me to apply your upgrades..."

Gooigi nodded, recalling to the tank on his Poltergust. E. Gadd plugged it into his computer, uploading the information before Gooigi emerged, his gooy version of a Poltergust on his back.

"You got it? Not too heavy?"

Gooigi shifted, stretching his arm across his body to look at it. Then he gave a thumbs up.

"Good." E. Gadd lowered his chair to jump to the floor, "Here, Luigi! Gooigi is an excellent ghost hunter, but you may as well carry this."

The weight of the Poltergust on Luigi's shoulders was always comforting to him, in a way. Though it meant he'd be fighting ghosts, he liked knowing he had something to defend himself with, even if it meant he couldn't jump as high from the steel and electrical components keeping the chamber inside secure, ensuring no ghosts could even think of escape.

E. Gadd then turned to his stack of four other Poltergusts, "Oh, don't think I forgot about you, Mario! Here, this is the Poltergust five thousand plus. It's the same as the Poltergust five thousand, but with upgraded features!"

"Oh, no." Mario pushed the heavy vacuum away, "Thank you, but...I couldn't take this from you."

"No, Mario." a sinister glimmer appeared in E. Gadd's glasses, _"I insist."_

Mario, unsettled, looked up at his two companions.

"Just take it." Luigi said flatly, "You'll get used to it."

Mario hesitantly took the Poltergust, slipping his arms through the straps and hopping in place to test its weight.

"Well, if I give all three of you a communicator, I can pixelate you to any of my cameras!"

Luigi tested his dark light, "Please tell me you figured out that the Virtual Boo was a bad idea? I think I still have motion sickness from fiddling with that thing."

"No, actually." E. Gadd returned to his chair, "I wanted to make something even more extravagant, but Gooigi told me that I probably don't want my ghost hunters to be dizzy, so I begrudgingly made something sleeker."

He lifted a tiny device between his thumb and forefinger, no bigger than Luigi's ear. It had five buttons, one dark gray in the shape of a plus sign, and four round buttons; a yellow one, a green one, a blue one, and a red one. The overall device was a light gray color, and its shape was rounded. It also had a jutting piece of plastic around the other side, presumably to hold it in place around someone's ear.

"Behold!" he held it up to the light, "The Super Scrammi-Com! Capable of all forms of communication without the need for extra weight one would need to carry!"

Luigi wrinkled his nose, "Did Gooigi also give it that awful name?"

E. Gadd's face fell, "No..."

Gooigi took the device in his hands, nodding in approval at its size and weight. He swapped it out for the one he'd previously been wearing. It was much bigger, but not having to hold a huge device up to his eyes was worth that tiny drawback, though because of his gooy consistency, the communicator sat partially inside his outer ear. It couldn't be helped, and though it didn't bother him, he hoped it wouldn't end up lost because it wasn't properly attached.

"Okay." Luigi accepted his own, hooking it around his ear and aligning it with his ear canal, "If the volume on this is too high, I'm going to have a heart attack."

"Don't worry, my boy. It won't be like last time." E. Gadd returned to his computer, "Now, because of their limited size, I can't pixelate you back here from anywhere, but I do have screens scattered across the entire world. I'll mark them on your map, Gooigi."

Luigi watched Gooigi take something out of E. Gadd's desk drawer, "You have a map?"

Gooigi opened it up, revealing it to be a thinner, red version of the Duel Scream.

"In an emergency, you can pixelate from that, but it will only transport one person at a time." E. Gadd handed Mario one more Scrammi-Com, "Okay, I think that's everything. Call me anytime if you need me. I'm sending you out now. Good luck!"

The giant monitor near the ceiling turned the whole room white from its glow, and all three of them were pixelated out.

Luigi didn't like the pixelator. It made him go completely numb, and it made him black out while he was in pieces. The worst thought he had was the knowledge that if even one of his pixels didn't make it through, he would never repixelate, and he would never wake up. It chilled something deep inside him, so even though he tried to be brave, he found himself shivering.

Of course, he made it through, and so did the other two. They emerged at the edge of the Koopa Kingdom, where dark clouds were roiling overhead.

Mario adjusted the Scrammi-Com in his ear before testing the flashlight on his Poltergust, "Luigi, what happened 'last time'?"

Luigi groaned, starting on the path towards Bowser's castle, "Don't ask."

As they walked, Mario and Gooigi began to notice Luigi's stiffness. His hesitation. The lava was still pretty far, and so was any indication of ghosts, yet Luigi was shaking like they were already expecting a fight.

"Luigi?" Mario grabbed his shoulder to halt him in his tracks, "Are you alright?"

"I mean, I just, I'm not..." Luigi babbled, gathering his thoughts before he could make a fool of himself, "Ugh! Why did it have to be ghosts!? It's always ghosts!"

Mario stumbled at Luigi's outburst, "Luigi..."

"Every time! It can't just be Bowser anymore, can it!? It has to be ghosts! Why can't it ever just be-!"

"Why do you hate ghosts so much!?"

The question made Luigi's next words die in his throat. He turned to face Mario, his expression frozen in disbelief.

All that escaped him was a simple, "What?"

Mario eyed him with a kind of stern glare, "There must be a reason, right? Why do you hate ghosts?"

Luigi looked away, "I mean...I can't help what I'm scared of, bro."

Mario shook his head, "You don't hate Bowser or any other enemies we face nearly this much. In fact, you fight against some of them with a smile. What is it about ghosts that terrifies you so much more than a koopa with a spiked shell that can breathe fire?"

Luigi yanked his arm out of Mario's reach, "Can Bowser phase through walls? Can Bowser turn invisible? Can Bowser make a whole room freezing cold? Can Bowser possess you or scheme behind your back!? Can Bowser sneak up on you with no warning and no way to tell exactly where he is!? No! Bowser can't do any of those things! But do you know what _CAN!?"_

He let the question hang in the air, turning back to continue up the path.

Mario looked back at Gooigi, who offered a helpless shrug before following, and Mario was forced to quicken his pace to catch up with them.

"Luigi." Mario stopped him again, "I'm sorry."

Luigi sighed, his head hanging as he gazed at the lava up ahead.

"No, it's fine." he said softly, "I'm sorry for yelling, I'm just frustrated."

"It's...okay, bro."

Luigi let the silence hang, continuing to walk until the heat blasted them back. It made his lungs burn and his eyes water.

"Gooigi." he said, "The lava here goes on for awhile. You should recall until we get past it. I don't want you to melt."

Gooigi did as he asked, returning to the tank on Luigi's Poltergust. He was about to take another step up the path when something sharp pounded on the back of his eyes.

"Ow!" he doubled over, both hands on his head.

"Luigi?" Mario knelt beside him.

Luigi squeezed his eyes shut, "I'm fine, I just...something startled me..." he massaged the space between his eyes, "What _was_ that?"

He was aware of Gooigi's ability to project into his mind, in fact this ability had saved both their lives before, but this didn't feel quite like that. Whereas Gooigi in his tank could feel a bit like a presence in the back of Luigi's head, this invasive feeling was more like he _was_ Gooigi; Like he could see through his gooy green eyes. It only lasted a second, but as it faded, Luigi could feel his thoughts sticking to thoughts that didn't belong to him, a chaotic mess of signals tangled together, until one last lingering emotion was left behind; Guilt.

It wasn't his own emotion, but it stuck to him. He took a shuttering breath.

"Whatever. I'll figure it out later." Luigi tried to stand up, stumbling a bit before Mario caught him, "Come on. I'm fine."

"You sure?"

"Yeah." Luigi coughed when a new wave of hot lava air hit him, "Let's just go. I want to get past this lava."

***


	4. Chapter 4

By the time the three of them had made it to Koopa Castle Town, Mario and Luigi's eyes were full of reflex tears. Why Bowser chose to build in such lava-filled conditions was beyond them, but things had cooled down in the town square. Luigi still had that stickiness in his thoughts as he reached down to touch the dark cobblestones.

"Okay, Gooigi. It's cooled down a bit here." Luigi wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, "You can come out now."

Gooigi emerged, brushing an ember off his shoulder. The fuzziness in Luigi's head subsided, and he had no more foreign thoughts. He eyed Gooigi, now certain of what was causing it, but Gooigi made a point of avoiding his gaze.

"Okay." Luigi swivelled his flashlight around the street, "Mario, you remember how to use the Poltergust?"

"Uh..." Mario hit a random button, and a plunger attached to a knotted rope flew out of the nozzle and stuck to Luigi's face.

Luigi yanked on it until it came off, _"Right..."_

"Sorry!"

"It's fine." Luigi tossed the plunger aside, "Here, lemme help you with that."

Spectral gates came down in that moment, blocking all the exits. The temperature dropped, and Luigi's heart lurched into his throat.

"Ah! No time!" Luigi fumbled with the flashlight, "This is the flash for the strobulb, and this is the trigger for the vacuum! You have to stun them before you can suck them up!"

He turned to face the threat, coming face to face with a glowing figure in the darkness.

The ghost leapt towards him, "Boo!"

"AIEE!!!”

Luigi flew back onto his rear as the ghost laughed, disappearing in a puff of mist.

Mario helped him to his feet, "Luigi!"

"I'm fine!" Luigi clutched his chest as his heart pounded, "Trust me, bro. I'm in my element."

To Mario's credit, he did try to help. As ghosts came out through all corners of the town, he did what Luigi said he should do; Strobulb, then vacuum. However, he simply wasn't used to the Poltergust weighing him down, so he got himself hurt a few times trying to jump to avoid attacks, and the force of using the vacuum would often cause him to trip.

Meanwhile, Luigi and Gooigi knew exactly what they were doing. They would frequently suck up two or three ghosts at the same time, and then use those to slam into other ghosts. That not only hurt them as well, but it made them prone to stunning, so ghost after ghost disappeared into the vacuums, almost creating a chain reaction.

Before long, the gates disappeared, and the warmth returned.

_"Whew..."_ Luigi fanned his face with his hat, "I don't know if I'll ever get used to that..."

He caught sight of Mario kneeling at the edge of the square, his eyes filled with awe.

"Mario!" Luigi jammed his hat back on as he ran to his side, "Are you okay!? Oh my gosh, you're hurt!"

Mario had a bruise above his brow, as well as cuts and burns along his palms beneath torn gloves, likely from reaching out to break his fall.

As Luigi fussed over him, Mario's face broke out in a wide grin, "Luigi, that was amazing! I've never seen you move like that, and without the ability to jump!"

Luigi felt his heart swell with pride, "You...you really mean it?"

"Of course I do!" Mario took his hand, shaking it vigorously, "You're incredible, bro! Both of you are!"

Luigi liked to think that he didn't need his brother praising him just to feel validated, but he couldn't help the joy that sprung within him when Mario would tell him that he was doing a good job.

"Thank you." Luigi said, inspecting Mario's scraped-up hands, "That means a lot coming from you. Any other injuries? No fractures?"

"No, I'm fine." Mario tried to stand, but faltered, air wooshing out of his lungs, _"Oww."_

"Hold on, bro. You're hurt." Luigi forced him to sit, "Gooigi, keep watch?"

Gooigi turned away from them, his flashlight at the ready.

"Okay, where does it hurt?" Luigi looked for spots of blood, not easy when your patient was wearing a red shirt and denim overalls.

"Luigi, really. You're overreacting. It's just a scratch."

Luigi rummaged around in his pockets, "Bro, if I was hurt, even a little, you know what you would do. Now tell me where else you're hurt."

Mario couldn't give a retort, so he finally gave in, "My chest. Might be a bruised rib."

"Yikes." Luigi found what he was looking for; A little white square that resembled a sticker, "Show me."

Mario unbuttoned his overalls and lifted one side of his shirt. Sure enough, an ugly purple bruise was forming underneath his right arm, all along the pectoral muscle. Luigi cringed, imagining how he must have fallen to get a bruise so nasty-looking. No wonder he was in pain.

Luigi peeled off the paper on the adhesive side of the sticker, placing it firmly over the bruise, "There. That should help with the pain."

Mario ran a finger over the patch, "Aspirin?"

"Something like that." Luigi procured something else; A red mushroom, "Eat this."

"No, I couldn't." Mario tried to push it away, "We should save these for when we really need them."

"It's either this, or I'm sending you back to E. Gadd's lab." Luigi pushed back, "You can't fight like this, bro. And besides, we have plenty to spare."

Mario begrudgingly took it, "Are you hurt?"

Luigi smiled, "No. I'm okay."

Mario still seemed unsure, but regardless, he did eat the mushroom.

"There." Luigi watched the bruise on Mario's head fade, "How do you feel now?"

Mario fixed up his clothes before attempting to stand again, and he did so much more easily than before, "Much better. Thanks, Luigi."

"No problem." Luigi took the flashlight in his hands again, "Okay, we still have aways to go before reaching the castle, so let's get moving."

And hope there's not too much conflict...but he didn't say that part aloud.

One thing that was nagging him the longer they stayed is that there were no Bowser enemies. Not a single goomba, koopa troopa, lakitu, spiney or anything else in sight. There weren't even any boos, just wave after wave of ghosts. It gave Luigi a really bad feeling, one that he couldn't quite place, although it did feed into his earlier suspicion regarding Bowser...

They had already made it to the end of the city when the first sign of real trouble started.

"Hey!"

Luigi froze, trying to place the voice as he waved his flashlight in all directions.

"Leave me alone! You idiots don't scare me!"

Luigi took off, "Come on!"

Around the corner was another open street, and in the middle of a hoard of ghosts was a familiar toad with a headlamp and a heavy backpack.

"Go away! I told ya! I mean it! I-if you don't back off-!"

Luigi reacted without thinking, sprinting across the street to scoop up the toad in his arms.

The ghosts cackled, "Hahaha! Look, everyone! It's Luigi!"

Luigi paid them no mind as he kept running. Already, he could hear Gooigi taking care of them, Mario mostly acting as backup after his injury. Luigi set the toad down, only to receive a foot to the face.

"Ouch!"

"You don't scare me, you stupid ghost!"

"Captain, it's me! Luigi! Ow! Stop! Not the nose!"

Captain Toad registered the words and hopped to his feet excitedly, "Luigi! Boy, am I glad to see you! Sorry about that, I didn't see who was carrying me."

Luigi gingerly touched his cheek, where one of Toad's blows had connected, "It's fine. Yeesh, for someone so small, you really pack a punch!"

"Thank you! Although, I seem to have done worse to you than I did to those ghosts..."

"Yeah, that's because you can't hit them, genius." Luigi looked around the corner of the building. Gooigi was having a bit of trouble. He would need help, "Captain, wait here."

"Hey! Don't leave me alone!"

"I won't be gone long." Luigi had his flashlight at the ready, "Just stay out of sight!"

Gooigi was hit with a rock over the head, and he left a green streak behind him as he went flying. He would heal in a few seconds, but Luigi would need to distract their attackers during that time.

Luigi took a deep breath, _"Hey!"_

They turned.

"It's-a me!" Luigi flashed the strobulb, and three of them met their end in the vacuum.

Gooigi was back on his feet as soon as he'd healed, picking up the slack from before. One by one, they gained the upper hand, until there was only one ghost left. It escaped, and the lights got brighter.

"Alright!" Luigi spun the flashlight in his hold before hooking it back on the main body of his Poltergust, "Are you okay, Gooigi?"

Gooigi gave a thumbs up.

"Luigi!" Captain Toad ran to hug his leg, "Oh wow! My men have told me about your ghost hunting skills, but that's _nothing_ compared to seeing it in person!"

"Uh..." Luigi awkwardly pat the top of Captain Toad's head, "Thanks, Captain."

"Mario!" Captain Toad ran into him next, "Goodness, I missed you!"

"Ow!"

"Ack!" Captain Toad jumped away, "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you!?"

Mario massaged the sore spot on his torso, "No, I was already hurt."

"Oh. I'm sorry." the excitable toad smiled when his eyes landed on Gooigi, "I know we saw each other briefly while out exploring, but I don't believe we've met properly. Captain Toad, at your service!"

_"Hhmm."_ Gooigi scrutinized the small toad, like he couldn't figure the little guy out.

"He doesn't talk much." Luigi explained, "His name is Gooigi."

"Gooigi! That's right. Nice to meet you, Gooigi!"

Luigi noticed it almost too late. The cold had returned. The ghost from before was approaching Gooigi with a bucket in his hands

"Gooigi, LOOK OUT!"

Gooigi whipped his head around, but it was too late. The ghost threw the contents of the bucket over Gooigi.

All Luigi could register next was pain.

It exploded over his skin. Boiling, blistering pain that made him think for a wild second that he had been set on fire. The pain seeped into his body from the outside in, knocking out his vision and making him scratch his face. He could feel his whole body shaking with uncontrollable tremors, throwing him to the cobblestones where he continued to convulse, his heart rate climbing until he could feel every heart palpitation that assaulted his senses.

When he was aware again, he was lying on the ground, and Gooigi was gone, though the puddle of water from the bucket was clear. Maybe he was able to recall in time.

Maybe he was okay.

That thought comforted him as the sweeping laser of the pixelator ripped him away from consciousness.

***


	5. Chapter 5

_"Luigi!"_

Ouch. He had never had a headache like this before. Every beat of his heart fluttered feebly against his ribcage, his lungs constricted as he took breath after shaky breath.

_"Luigi! Wake up!"_

He wasn't sure he wanted to. He felt sluggish, and his whole body hurt.

_"Luigi! Are you okay!? Can you hear me!? Wake up! Please!"_

Though his body protested the action, he forced his eyelids open, pushing himself up onto his arms.

He lifted a hand to his face, finding the skin ghostly cold. He would have panicked, but this feeling on his cheek was so familiar, he couldn't bring himself to be afraid. The cold spread to his fingers as he held them in the air, and he realized what was happening just before he registered a dog barking.

 _"Polterpup..."_ he reached for the hazy white shape in his vision, "Polterpup! Polterpup, you're such a good dog!"

Polterpup was peppering him with ghostly dog kisses, and each time he did, Luigi could feel the pain receding more and more. He cried in relief, running his hands all over the dog's head and body, petting him where he could reach from the assault.

"Good boy, good boy!" Luigi laughed blissfully, his breaths coming easier, his heart beats coming stronger, until the world around him sharpened and he lost the head-underwater feeling.

Polterpup backed off as soon as Luigi lifted his head, but Luigi kept one hand on him as he looked around.

He felt a hand on his cheek, and he was met with Mario's concerned frown, "Are you okay, Luigi? What happened?"

It wasn't just him. He was back in the lab, with E. Gadd in his chair, and Gooigi kneeling beside him, gurgling in concern.

"Yeah, what happened back there?" Captain Toad was there too, his headlamp turned off, "I was afraid you were about to have a seizure!"

Luigi resumed petting when Polterpup tucked his head under his chin, though his hand stilled as he recalled the unbearable pain.

"I don't know." his voice came out quiet, "I don't know what happened. I have no idea."

His gaze landed on Gooigi, who reached out to take his hand.

"Gooigi?" Luigi came to another sickening realization, "Is that how you feel when you melt? It is really so agonizing?"

"It isn't supposed to be."

E. Gadd. Luigi watched him slouch in his chair, "What do you mean?"

E. Gadd shrugged helplessly, "Gooigi doesn't feel pain the same way you do, Luigi. Pain for him is more of an annoyance than anything crippling. After all, he doesn't have a physical body. Not the way you do. The only reason melting was so painful for him this time is because he was feeling it from you."

That was when all the pieces finally fell into place.

"What..." Luigi felt a shutter wrack his frame as he took a shaking gasp of air.

And then a hot flash shot up his chest.

"What did you do?" Luigi stood up, ignoring the pins and needles in his feet, "What did you do to me, old man!? Are you responsible for this!? Why are we connected!? Answer me!"

"No!" E. Gadd lifted his hands in surrender, "I know what you must be thinking, but I am not responsible for this!"

"Then who is!?" Luigi stumbled, catching himself on E. Gadd's desk, "If this isn't your doing, then who on earth could possibly be responsible!?"

"Take a wild guess!" E. Gadd stood on his chair to tower over Luigi, "Who else in this situation could be responsible!? You're not an idiot, Luigi! You can figure it out!"

Luigi only paused for a moment, "Don't you _dare_ pin this on Gooigi!"

"I'm not saying it was his fault." E. Gadd's face was red from shouting by the time he calmed down, "But you asked who was responsible. Whether he intended it or not."

Luigi turned towards the person in question, and Gooigi stared directly at the ground.

"Gooigi?" Luigi leaned on Polterpup when he stumbled again, shakily getting to his feet, "Is it true? Did you do this?"

He registered the guilt again. The slimy guilt. The guilt that wasn't his.

Gooigi's hands formed gooy fists, _"I'mm soorryy."_

Luigi frowned.

"E. Gadd." he could feel himself shaking again. He tried to take a steadying breath, "Explain."

E. Gadd exhaled, returning to his passive seated position, "Goo has the ability to project itself into the minds of neighboring goo. It's how they can communicate even while spread apart. Even living goo that's not nearly as smart as Gooigi can do this, but Gooigi's intelligence allows him to see through the eyes of humans as well, something ordinary living goo cannot do. On top of this, Gooigi can do this easier from a jar or a tank, and he has a special connection to the Poltergust because of how I created him. You noticed of course how your telepathic link got stronger when Gooigi was recalled?"

Luigi nodded, not liking where this was going.

"Well, it seems that Gooigi trusts you so much, he even trusts you with his very being. This allowed your link to grow stronger and stronger until it was able to persist even outside the tank, and without the aid of the Poltergust." E. Gadd twiddled his thumbs, "It created a snowball effect, so to speak, but that's just what I _think_ is going on. I don't know for sure."

Luigi was dumbfounded. Gooigi trusted him? Even with his raw, whole self? He turned to Gooigi, hoping he had a better explanation. He didn't even have to ask to know that he didn't.

"Hey, kiddo, don't despair." E. Gadd said, "Gooigi would never invade your thoughts without your permission. He doesn't have full control of his internal self though, and you don't know how to control yours through the link as well, so if you ever felt like he's inside your head, it's likely from your consciousness bleeding into his. Your thoughts are all your own, just as they were before. I promise."

That finally allowed Luigi to calm down somewhat. By now, the pain had faded to nothing more than a distant memory, but he was still shaking too badly to stand unaided.

"Luigi?"

The voice of Mario. Luigi turned to him, "Bro...d-did I...?"

Mario didn't wait for him to finish, offering a hug which Luigi accepted, mumbling something incoherent while he weakly collapsed. Mario lowered him to the floor, and they held each other for a long time.

"It hurt so b-badly..." he took each breath like it would be his last, "I've never felt pain like that...it was so horrible..."

He didn't have the strength to keep crying. He was too weighed down with exhaustion and sorrow. Not only had he felt the full blast of melting alive, but he had projected that agony onto Gooigi without even realizing it.

"Gooigi." he pushed away from Mario to face his look-alike, "I'm so sorry. A-are you okay? Does anything still hurt?"

Gooigi hugged him, trembling like a leaf. He blubbered incoherently until both Luigi and Mario were holding him tightly.

Luigi felt something burn on his shoulder, and he pulled back, confused.

"Oh no!" Luigi pushed Gooigi away, "My tears are hurting you!"

Gooigi shook his head, touching Luigi's cheek and flinching back. Luigi felt that in his own hand, too.

"Um..." Captain Toad sniffed loudly, "Why are we crying!? What's going on!?"

Luigi pulled him into the hug.

"Captain." he said, "Me and Gooigi are telepathically linked."

Saying it out loud like that made it feel all the more real. There was no denying it; He had been directly reading Gooigi's thoughts and feelings this whole time.

"You need to pull back, Luigi." E. Gadd said, "Gooigi is feeling feedback from how you would perceive pain in his situation. You have to stop that feedback loop."

"How in stars do I do that?"

"I don't know! I'm not the one telepathically linked to living goo! Just...imagine it or something. Think about receding out of Gooigi's head."

That sounded ridiculous, but it was worth a shot. Luigi could feel the stickiness return to his thoughts, so he pulled himself away from it until the burning sensation had stopped.

"Okay. Did that work?" Luigi looked Gooigi up and down, "You're okay?"

Gooigi nodded.

"You mean it? You're not just saying that? It doesn't hurt anymore?"

"You're so kind, Luigi." E. Gadd chuckled to himself, "Don't worry. As long as you aren't in his head, he won't feel any pain from you."

Gooigi touched Luigi's face again, but this time, he didn't flinch, even though his fingers did melt a little bit. He made a sound of epiphany, nodding in approval as he flexed his fingers. They healed up in the next second. Most importantly though, there was no feedback. Luigi felt nothing from it.

"Now, if only we had caught this sooner..." E. Gadd gave Gooigi a pointed look, "Why didn't you tell me you had linked with Luigi?"

Gooigi gave a shrug, scratching his head.

"You didn't know?"

Gooigi nodded.

"What do you mean you didn't know? Did you just realize what you were doing too late to stop it?"

Gooigi hid his face in his hands.

"Well..." E. Gadd sighed, turning back towards his computer, "Shady!"

A green ghost poked her head through the ceiling, "You called?"

"Can you fetch me the folder about goo?"

"You got it!" Shady disappeared, making rummaging sounds around the second floor until she returned with a fat yellow folder.

"Thank you. You're dismissed."

Shady left, and the room was silent aside from the clacking of the keyboard and the turning of pages.

Luigi tugged on the collar of his shirt, "Hey, Shady?"

She returned, "What's up?"

Luigi returned to his petting of Polterpup, "Is E. Gadd paying you?"

"Sure is. Why?"

Luigi hesitated, "Minimum wage?"

Shady shrugged, "I don't care. I don't have to eat, and the old man lets me throw parties in the attic. It's not like he has me under contract or anything."

"Okay. Just making sure."

Shady glared at him, "And by the way, Luigi; I would appreciate it if you stopped shivering every time I entered a room."

He flinched, "Sorry."

Mario put a hand on his shoulder, "It's not like he has any control over that. He shivers when Polterpup enters a room too."

Shady rolled her eyes, "It's still annoying. While I have your attention though, I hope you know I'm sorry for everything I did during the Dark Moon crisis. It wasn't me in control, but I still feel bad that you got hurt."

Luigi was touched, "It's okay, Shady. I'm sorry I trapped you in the vault."

She laughed, "Hey, it's cool, man. It wasn't so bad in there. Okay, I have a book to get back to. See ya."

_"Addio."_

E. Gadd swivelled his chair around once Shady was gone, "Okay, I _would_ say that Luigi needs to stay here and recover, but I know he won't listen to me until your friend is safe, so instead I'm giving Gooigi an upgrade."

Gooigi stood up to stand beside the computer, and E. Gadd took a plug to stick the metal prongs inside Gooigi's head. Electricity arched off his fingertips. Luigi gulped, careful to keep his thoughts on his side of the link. He didn't want to know what that would feel like.

"Perfect! Oh hohoho!" E. Gadd took the plug, "How do you feel, Gooigi? Not too foggy?"

Gooigi pressed his hands together, but they slipped across each other instead of sticking.

"Shape-shifting will be more difficult, but I think it will be worth it to avoid another accident!"

Gooigi held his hand out, palm-up, towards Luigi. He took it, and was astounded by the slippery feeling. It felt like he was running his fingers along the surface of ice, if ice was warmer and had a lot of give.

"Gooigi is now more resistant to water and fire!" E. Gadd explained, "I wouldn't throw him in a lake or anything, but he'll be safer in Bowser's castle, I think."

"Why didn't you give him this upgrade sooner?"

"Because it makes shape-shifting more difficult, like I said." E. Gadd adjusted his glasses, "There are drawbacks to having this resistance. He won't be able to recall on a moment's notice, he can't store things in his body, and if something does manage to get inside of him, it will do worse damage than normal. He also can't heal as fast, and he can't walk through spikes or flow through grates."

Luigi felt one lower eyelid draw up over his iris, "That's a lot of drawbacks."

"If you were going anywhere but Bowser's castle, I wouldn't have bothered with an upgrade like this even after that melting fiasco, but the residence will likely help you out, and if nothing else, I can remove this upgrade at any time."

"Wow." Captain Toad poked Gooigi's leg, "Cool."

"Well, I guess we should go now." Luigi retrieved his Poltergust from where it was leaning against the wall, "Captain Toad can wait here while the three of us fetch the princess."

"What!? No!" Captain Toad pouted, "I can't just sit around and do nothing! You know I never back down from a challenge!"

"Captain, this isn't any ordinary challenge. These are _ghosts._ You can't fight them through normal means."

"I know, but you have that flashing light bulb, right? I saw you using it before! I bet if I had one of those, I could take 'em on!"

"You know what?" Luigi reached into his pocket for his flashlight, "You're right. Here. This button is the strobulb. Just don't-!"

He was blinded by a sudden flash of light.

"Whoops. Sorry."

"Captain!" Luigi rubbed his eyes, the purple afterimage taking too long to fade, "Gosh, that _hurts!"_

"Whoo hoo!" Captain Toad strapped the flashlight to his belt, "I bet I could fit this thing to my headlamp! This is awesome!"

Luigi blinked a few times, _"You're welcome."_

Mario took his shoulders, "You okay, Luigi?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." Luigi waved him off, "Okay, we should be safe if we pixelate to the town square. E. Gadd?"

"Yep!"

E. Gadd hit his button, and the four of them disappeared through the screen.

***


	6. Chapter 6

Bowser's castle was usually well-guarded. It had traps, secret passageways, plenty of enemies, the works. Of course, today the castle was guarded by ghosts and ghosts alone.

As he began to fight, Luigi was actually impressed by Captain Toad's abilities. He used the strobulb _relentlessly._ As soon as the ghosts were stunned, the captain would attack them with anything he could get his hands on, including the very flashlight he had used to stun them. It made their job much easier, and they made it to the castle doors in no time.

"Okay, once we get to the throne room we'll have to fight Bowser." Luigi ran ahead of the other three, "Stick close to me. That means you, Mario."

They burst through the doors of the throne room. It was pitch-black inside, aside from a cage hanging on a chain from the ceiling, which had a spotlight on it. The figure inside looked up upon hearing the doors open.

Luigi sighed in relief seeing her unharmed, "Princess!"

Peach flinched, the cage swinging as she leaned against the bars, "Who's there!?"

Luigi pointed the flashlight at his face to illuminate it, "Princess, it's me!"

"Luigi!" Peach grabbed the bars, "Mario! Guys!"

"Don't worry! We'll get you out of there!" Luigi pointed his flashlight at the chain, tracing it to a lever on the wall.

He was about to reach out and flip it, but those spectral gates returned, and Luigi jumped as goosebumps prickled all over his arms.

"What do you think you're doing!?"

Luigi's flashlight beam landed on Bowser, who charged up a fireball in his mouth before Luigi could react-!

Gooigi shoved him just as the fireball whizzed by Luigi's head, the hot air from the fire bringing back the memory of melting alive. It distracted him, and he fell limp as Gooigi shook him. It wasn't until Luigi heard Mario cry out in pain that he snapped out of it.

"Mario!" Luigi ran right into the battle in time to see Bowser lift Mario by the throat, "Hey! Let him go!"

Luigi flashed the strobulb, forcing Bowser to drop Mario, and Luigi slid out of the Poltergust to jump as high as he could. His shoes connected firmly with Bowser's nose, and he spun to land a rounded kick to his stomach. Luigi couldn't believe how much he could move without the Poltergust weighing him down. It was exhilarating.

Bowser flew into the wall, breaking through it and landing in the hallway. The cracks from the wall loosened the cage on the throne room ceiling, and the bottom of the cage broke off, throwing Peach out and causing her to fall.

"Princess!" Luigi reached out, bending his knees to absorb the shock of the fall, and suddenly she was in his arms.

"Luigi!" Peach wrapped her arms around his neck, "You saved me! Thank you!"

Luigi could feel her cheek resting on his forehead. Her weight in his arms grounded him. Her hair tickled his nose. She was so soft, and if Luigi focused, he could smell the strawberry perfume she always wore.

Mario laughed, "Nice catch."

Luigi hastily set her on her feet, clearing his throat awkwardly, "Well...let's get out of here."

Gooigi handed him his Poltergust, and they escaped through the broken hole in the wall, where Bowser lay dazed on the floor.

"Hey, Gooigi." Luigi let everyone pass him so he could watch the group as they escaped, "Thanks for the save."

Gooigi gave a thumbs up as he led them to a screen outside the castle. He pressed the button, and all of them were pixelated out.

***

"Hey, everyone! It's the princess!"

The toads gathered around her, cheering as she gave a curtsy in the main square of Toad Town.

"Mario!"

The toads all gathered around him, congratulating him for saving the princess again, though he tried to correct them.

"Wow." Luigi laughed, "Incredible. I'm glad some things never change."

Gooigi pointed into the crowd, making a noise of questioning.

"I know, Mario hardly did anything this time, but that's kinda always how it goes." Luigi crossed his arms, "He's the hero, and I'm the sidekick. It doesn't bother me."

A tear rolled down Luigi's cheek, and he struggled to maintain his nonchalant smile.

 _"It, it doesn't..."_ his voice cracked, _"It doesn't bother me..."_

His eyes were hidden beneath the brim of his cap as he walked back over the hill, his hands stuffed in his pockets. Gooigi could feel the sorrow radiating off him in waves as he walked away, and he wondered how many times this had happened before.

"But guys!" Mario finally got the crowd to settle down, "I can't take the credit for saving the princess!"

The 34 pairs of eyes in the square stared at him. One toad in the back called out, "What?"

"It's true." Peach said, "Mario helped, but it was actually Luigi who saved me this time."

"Yeah! Luigi used his ghost vacuum and it was so cool!" Captain Toad tried to see over all the curious mushroom heads, "Mario was injured, but Luigi was a total badass!"

"He was!" Mario turned back towards the hill, "Luigi!"

His face fell when all he saw was Gooigi, rubbing his arms as if he was cold.

"Gooigi?" he climbed up the hill, "Where's Luigi?"

Gooigi threw a thumb over his shoulder. He had gone back home.

"Oh no..." Mario called back towards the crowd, "I'm going to find Luigi!"

Peach hiked up her skirt to run after him, "I'm coming with you!"

Mario and Luigi lived on one of the more deserted roads of Toad Town, healing mushrooms growing in the garden and vines climbing up the doorway and around the windows. Mario twisted the doorknob, but it was locked, so he reached into his pocket for his house key.

"Luigi?"

The house appeared empty. The carpet was clean, the dishes were washed, and the clutter was put away. Luigi never forgot to lock the door when he left the house, so there was no reason to believe he was here. At least, not at first glance.

Polterpup came around the corner, running into Mario's legs and tugging on his pant leg with his teeth.

"Is Luigi here?" Mario knelt down to face him, "Lead me to him."

Polterpup took off down the hallway, stopping at Luigi's bedroom door and sitting in front of it. Mario had a feeling Luigi would be here, Gooigi could have told him that much, but Polterpup seemed pleased with himself regardless.

Mario tested the doorknob, finding it locked, so he knocked instead, "Luigi? Are you in there?"

The sound of rustling bedsheets came through the other side, followed by a tired-sounding groan.

"Can I come in, bro?"

 _"No."_ Luigi's voice came out hoarse, _"Go away."_

Polterpup whined.

"Luigi, you deserve the credit for what you did." Mario said, "We already explained that to the toads. Come out and we can celebrate your victory."

Luigi didn't reply.

"Please let me in. Peach is here, too. So is Polterpup. I'm worried about you."

Polterpup decided that he'd had enough. He phased through the wall, and Luigi sputtered as he was assaulted with dog kisses.

 _"Alright alright, Puppy! I'll come out!"_ Luigi's footsteps approached the door, _"How many times do I have to tell you not to phase into my bedroom!? That really freaks me out!"_

The door opened, and a very disheveled Luigi straightened his hat on messy hair. Polterpup barked, clearly pleased with himself.

"Luigi?" Mario noted his puffy red eyes, "Are you okay?"

Luigi huffed, "I just want to be left alone. Is that so much to ask?"

Gooigi shook his head, taking Luigi's hand. He looked at it, a debate going on inside his head, until he placed Luigi's hand on his own head.

_You don't want to be alone. You're only saying that because you don't want people to worry about you._

Luigi's eyes snapped wide open. The words came to him as easily as if they were his own thoughts. The voice he heard was nondescript, the default voice your thoughts have when you aren't thinking about voices, but he could tell that somehow, these thoughts belonged to Gooigi.

"I..." he finally registered what Gooigi had actually told him, "No, really. I'm fine. Just tired."

_You were crying._

"No I wasn't."

_I saw it._

"You saw wrong."

_Luigi..._

"Um..." Mario glanced between them, "What's going on...?"

"Telepathic link." Luigi snatched his hand away, "Gooigi, please stop. I'm fine."

"Come on, bro. You've never been a good liar."

"I'm not lying."

"Yes you are."

"I'm not! I'm fine!"

"Guys!" Peach put her arms between them, "Please. Let's keep this civil."

They lapsed into silence.

"Luigi." Peach put on the sweetest voice she could muster, "We're just trying to help. We love you, and we don't want you to be sad. Will you let us cheer you up? Pretty pleeease?"

Luigi bit his lip _hard._ Peach looked almost on the verge of tears, her eyes sparkling like the sun reflecting off the ocean. He felt the heat rise up his face, wishing he could look away and stop embarrassing himself. How dare Peach use her sweetness on him!? It took everything in him to not cave.

Polterpup gave him the biggest puppy-dog eyes, and his resolve buckled.

"God, fine!"

"Yay!" Peach dragged him by the wrists out into the living room.

"Yeah yeah yeah, don't push your luck." Luigi let her sit him on the couch, "What could you possibly do to cheer me up?"

Mario sat beside him, "Easy! The same thing we always do to cheer you up!"

"Good luck with that." Luigi crossed his arms, "It's not going to work this time."

"We'll see about that!" Peach opened a photo album in his lap.

Gooigi scrutinized the first photo. Luigi looked much younger, maybe 13 or 14, and he had an amazed look on his face as he gazed into a wide box, torn wrapping paper at his feet. Mario was beside him, covered in bandages, with one arm around his brother as he smiled for the camera.

Luigi got really quiet, tracing the edge of the photo with his thumb.

"This was the first time I got more presents than Mario for our birthday." a strong feeling of nostalgia swelled in his chest, "It was the one I got from Mario. He gave me a kite. It had a green checkered pattern on it, so there was no question about who it belonged to."

Mario gave him a side-hug, "And this was your first orchestra performance. You played double bass."

"Yeah. I did." Luigi turned the page, "This was the day I got my wisdom teeth taken out. You would have filmed the whole thing if Mama had let you."

"And this was the first time we saved the princess." Mario continued, "I suppose you didn't make it that far, but it wouldn't have been possible without you."

"This was when you saved Pauline from DK!" Luigi laughed, "Man, she looks so done with him! I remember taking this picture!"

"And our first lunch at the castle!"

"The day we bought our house!"

"The day we met Toadette and Captain Toad!"

"The day I fell off the roof and had to get my tooth repaired!" Luigi suddenly realized he had lost, closing the album with an audible _bang!_

He threw the book on the floor, rustling Peach's skirt with the disturbed air.

Luigi rested his head in his hands, "Okay, you win. This cheered me up."

Mario pat his shoulder, "It usually does. You're a sucker for good memories."

Gooigi put Luigi's hand on his head again, _I can't believe how long you've been alive._

Luigi breathed out hard through his nose, "I've been around thirty one years, buddy. I've seen some stuff."

Before anyone could interject, a voice came over their Scrammi-Coms, _"Everyone! The paranormal readings in Koopa Kingdom aren't going away! I need more help!"_

 _"Oh for crying out..."_ Luigi hit the reply button, "We're on our way!"

Gooigi hit the living room TV with a beam from his Duel Scream, and Luigi squeezed his eyes shut as he pixelated out.

***


	7. Chapter 7

"Gooigi, it's simply off the charts!" E. Gadd was frazzled, rambling the second they hit the ground, "If it gets much higher than this, we might be facing a dimensional collapse!"

Luigi felt his eyes roll around like googly eyes as he attempted to reorient himself, "Um, will this be anywhere near as bad as the Treacherous Mansion?"

"At this point?" E. Gadd faced them, "It might!"

_"Uuuggghhhhh..."_ Luigi lay on his back, attempting to catch his breath.

"I know, but you were alone back then!" E. Gadd pointed out, "You have plenty of help now!"

"True." Luigi lifted his index finger, "Will this be on a time crunch, or do I have time to lay here and do nothing for a bit?"

"You do if you're okay with Gooigi going alone."

Luigi suppressed another groan as he got to his feet, "Whatever. Let's just get this over with."

E. Gadd's hands froze over the keyboard, his movements coming slower. More hesitantly.

"Huh?" Luigi lay a hand on E. Gadd's chair, "E. Gadd, you okay?"

"Luigi, my boy..." E. Gadd folded his hands on the desk, "I'm afraid it won't be that simple."

Luigi's breath came out raspy, "Wh-What?"

"What I mean is, you will not be able to simply, 'get it over with', as you said."

Mario recovered before Luigi did, "What do you mean!? What could be out there that..."

Gooigi made a fearful sign towards E. Gadd. Luigi recognized it. It was the sign for, "King".

Luigi deflated, "Oh no..."

"I'm afraid so." E. Gadd said, "Luigi, you didn't fight Bowser in that castle. That was none other than a disguised King Boo."

King Boo.

He had beat up King Boo. He had ruined King Boo's plans.

King Boo was still out there.

Luigi felt his eyeballs roll back into his head as he fainted.

"Luigi!" Mario caught him before he could get a concussion.

"Oh! Um...I, uh...didn't expect that..."

"You just told him that he angered the king of boos!" Mario said angrily, "How were you _expecting_ him to react!?"

"I didn't expect him to pass out, that's for sure!"

Luigi blearily blinked up at his companions as the world appeared to sway back and forth. He focused on his breathing, knowing he was seconds away from losing it.

"Luigi." someone placed a hand on his cheek, "Listen. Do you hear me? Just listen to my voice, okay? You're going to be alright."

He finally connected the voice to a name, "Peach?"

"Yeah, it's me." she stroked his clammy forehead with her thumb, "It's okay. Are you listening? You're going to be okay."

No wonder everyone respected Peach as their princess. She was really good at keeping her cool, no matter what the problem could be. Luigi closed his eyes to listen to her soothing voice and focused on her hands on his face. It felt really nice.

As Mario helped Luigi stand, E. Gadd was talking again, "I don't understand! You've already fought and beaten King Boo no less than three times! Why do you still react to him like this?"

"Well, isn't that exactly the problem?" Luigi dusted himself off, "I'm afraid of King Boo _because_ I have to fight him so much! He didn't even _want_ me at first! He only wanted Mario, but now he _hates_ me! He's dubbed me his arch nemesis! He won't ever stay away or leave me alone! He wants me now more than he _ever_ wanted Mario!"

He held both sides of his head as Mario, Peach, and Gooigi surrounded him, each offering their version of comfort.

"Well, I don't know what to tell you." E. Gadd lay back in his chair, "You're the only person who can even stand up to him. Nobody can fight him off as easily as you do."

_I bet Mario could if he had any of the chances that I did._

That thought hit him harder than he was expecting.

E. Gadd finished typing, "Okay, Gooigi, you're all set? No bubbles?"

Gooigi gave his thumbs up.

"You ready, Luigi? Are you going to faint again?"

"Just turn on that stupid screen."

The light washed over him, and next thing he knew, he had fallen on his stomach in Bowser's kingdom. He leapt to his feet, pointing his flashlight in all directions before he breathed a sigh of relief.

Gooigi materialized beside him, adjusting his version of the Poltergust.

"You ready?"

Gooigi nodded.

"Then let's just get to it so I can take a nap."

***

Luigi fell flat on his face once the Pixelator dumped him back in the lab. Something cold touched his arm, and he saw that Gooigi was liquifying in his state of tiredness. Neither of them made any move to get up.

Mario hesitantly approached them, "How long have you guys been gone?"

Luigi grumbled, _"Six hours."_

"And just in time, too." E. Gadd slumped, "Thanks for the hustle, you two. The invasion has been weakened significantly. You'd better get all the rest you can today before they recover."

Gooigi gurgled from his half-solid state.

"Yes, I can remove that upgrade, just..." E. Gadd squinted at his screen, "Just...just give me a minute..."

Mario retrieved the cable, plugging it into Gooigi's head, who mumbled his thanks. They could tell the second the upgrade was gone, as Gooigi immediately collapsed into a puddle.

"Careful! You'll seep through the floorboards!"

Luigi lifted his hand, noting the liquid stuck to his glove, "Hey, you know he can recall from anywhere."

"Yes, but if he falls asleep like that, you know he'll be miserable when he wakes up!"

Mario offered a hand to Luigi, "Yikes. You're looking worse for wear."

"You would understand if you had been there."

Mario kept an arm around him as he stood, "It's just _tired,_ right? You're not hurt anywhere?"

"Oh, Mario..." Luigi gave a dry laugh, _"My soul is hurt..."_

Mario rolled his eyes, "He's fine."

E. Gadd urged Gooigi into his jar while Peach took Luigi's hands, "Are you okay? You look like you're at death's door."

"I'm fine, Princess. Just _deathly_ tired. I could sleep for a million years after that." Luigi accepted the water bottle she offered as he sat in one of the lab's folding chairs, "By the way, don't you have, like, royal duties to get back to?"

"No. I get kidnapped so often that the royal counsel can easily take over in my absence. I've only been gone less than a day, so they have everything handled. Besides, I have my cellphone. If they need me, they know to call."

It was the excuse she always gave, but nobody ever pressed her on it. After all, nobody understood royal proceedings better than her.

"Okay." Luigi took a deep breath once he'd downed the contents of the water bottle, "I think I've got about thirty seconds before I pass out. Is there any stretch of floor that isn't covered in dust, goo, or inventions?"

Mario and Peach hurried to clear a space for him, stealing a cushion from the couch in the hallway. Before he'd even settled on it, he was out.

It took about 20 seconds.

***


	8. Chapter 8

When he came to, he had a pounding headache. The world was blurry, and his muscles were sore, particularly where he'd needed to pull back on the Poltergust. His palms, the muscle between his thumb and forefinger, his biceps and forearms, his back, everything in his legs, and his heels. Yikes. He was sure he'd be feeling this for weeks.

He couldn't even sit up without seeing stars. He fell back with a groan.

"Headache?"

 _Mario._ "How'd you know?"

"If you can't sit up after waking up, that's usually the culprit." Mario brought him a glass of water and dropped a white pill into his hand, "Here. I'll help you."

Mario held him up long enough to swallow the pill. Luigi handed the empty glass back to him, "Advil?"

"Yeah." Mario lay him back down, "I can bring you more water, if you like."

"That would be great, thanks."

While Mario was away, Luigi was scanning the rest of the room. Peach was on a bench nearby, though she was no longer wearing her usual frilly dress. When did she change? Now she was wearing a pink sweater beneath a light blue pair of overalls with pink rain boots. A greenie sat on the bench beside her, and they were in a conversation about gardening or some such.

It took him a second before he realized he was staring. Was Princess Peach always so cute? Not even puppy cute...she was more like pretty cute. Her hair always matted, her full lips drawn in a perpetual pout. Her gestures exaggerated. Her laugh light like sleigh bells.

"Whatcha lookin' at, bro?"

Luigi's face turned bright red, "Oh, uh. Hey bro."

Mario handed him a full glass of water, "She's cute like that, huh?"

"Shut up. I don't know what you're talking about."

"Are you saying she _doesn't_ look cute?"

Luigi took a sip from the glass so he didn't have to answer.

"Hey. Luigi." Mario smiled at him, his eyes alight with sincerity, "It's okay."

It's okay? What's okay? It's not like Luigi was doing anything wrong. He had just caught himself staring at one of his best friends who was supposed to be Mario's...

_Oh._

_Oh no._

The blush on Luigi's face rose to his ears, "Um...where's Gooigi?"

Mario decided to spare him, "He's on E. Gadd's desk. You woke up before him."

As if on cue, the jar beside the sleeping scientist stirred, the green liquid spilling over the rim to puddle on the floor.

Luigi remembered the telepathic link too late. He pulled back on his thoughts, but there was no way Gooigi hadn't felt it. As soon as he formed, he gurgled in questioning.

"Um, hey Gooigi." Luigi sent him a mental message to back off, "How'd you sleep?"

Gooigi was overwhelmed with curiosity, but he didn't press further, which Luigi was grateful for. He made an OK sign with his hand.

"Good. Um, how long were we asleep?"

"Six hours." Mario replied, "About how long you were gone, in fact. Me and Peach have been trying to contact the other ghosts in Evershade Valley, and they've all confirmed that it's too quiet where they are. They can't leave the radius of the Dark Moon or they'll lose it, so there isn't much they can do to stop the boos from leaving. They've been doing what they can to help, though."

Luigi furrowed his brows, "If the Dark Moon keeps the ghosts from losing it, then can't we take it with us?"

Mario shook his head, "We already thought of that, but it turns out the Dark Moon is tied to Evershade Valley."

The gears were still turning. Gooigi couldn't hear his thoughts, but he did feel the way Luigi's mind was working, bouncing around ideas until they stuck together.

"Well...if we can't take the Dark Moon to Bowser's castle..."

Mario felt his eyebrow quirk, "Luigi, I know where this is going..."

"...then we should bring Bowser's castle to the Dark Moon!" he finished, a huge grin on his face.

Mario sighed, "Bro, there's no way that would work."

"Why not? We already know Bowser's castle can fly!"

"I know, but what makes you think we could get to the wheel without massive amounts of conflict? At that point, we might as well not even bother."

"But maybe we don't have to!" Luigi's grin only grew wider, "Remember when Bowser brought Peach's castle into outer space? I bet we could use something similar! Evershade Valley isn't too far from Koopa Kingdom!"

Mario slowly began to nod, "You know what? It might work. I'll bring it up with E. Gadd as soon as he wakes up!"

Mario scrambled to his feet to sit beside Peach, relaying Luigi's idea to her while she nodded along excitedly. Now that Luigi's attention was on her again, he felt that dread rise up from the depths. He had never felt so conflicted before. When did it start?

Gooigi waved him over, so he set the thought aside, "Yeah? What's up?"

Gooigi took Luigi's arm, palm facing up. He wasn't sure what he was trying to say at first, but he caught on without further explanation.

"Oh, sure. Go ahead."

Gooigi placed Luigi's hand on his head, _Do you want to see my room?_

His room? "Oh yeah! You live here, huh? Sure. Might as well while we're not on the field."

Gooigi helped him to his feet, and the two of them entered the hallway. Ever since Luigi's second haunted mansion adventure, this place never failed to give him the creeps. It wasn't nearly as bad as it was during the Dark Moon crisis, and thankfully there were no spiderwebs anywhere, but that didn't change the fact that the manor was still incredibly haunted, even though all the ghosts were friendly now.

Gooigi led him up the stairs, and Luigi resisted the urge to run faster, anticipating the steps giving way to a smooth ramp and dumping him back down to the first floor.

As it turned out, Gooigi's room was the manor's main bedroom. It was the first door on the right down the second floor hallway after leaving the foyer. Luigi was braced for something unsettling, but surprisingly, it was actually quite warm inside. The walls were painted green, and it had fluffy white rugs thrown around the floor. The source of the warmth was a space heater. The bed seemed stable enough, but remembering how it had tossed him into the studio, Luigi was ready to be cautious if nothing else.

Shady the ghost was sleeping over her book on the bed, ectoplasmic drool trailing from her chin to her folded arms. Gooigi shook her awake, and she blinked and yawned.

"Oh!" Shady bookmarked her page, "Sorry, Gooigi! I didn't mean to fall asleep in here!"

Gooigi waved his arms in a placating manner as Shady put the book in the shelf across the room.

"No, really. It's fine." she assured, "I was planning on leaving anyway. See you later!"

Gooigi waved as she disappeared through the ceiling.

Luigi watched him smooth out the bedspread, "Does she hang out in here often?"

Gooigi nodded, twirling his pointer finger in the air in a circular motion.

"Ghosts are in and out all day?" he guessed.

Gooigi gave another nod.

"Doesn't that bother you?"

Gooigi was quiet, then he lifted his hands to ask for Luigi's arm again.

_It does bother me sometimes, but the ghosts talk to each other, so if I tell one of them I want them to stay out, the rest catch on before long._

"Oh." Luigi scratched his cheek, "Cool. That's nice of them."

 _They say it's no trouble._ Gooigi let go, motioning for Luigi to follow him.

The aforementioned shelf was full of books to the point of overflowing. Many books were on the floor in stacks, and a lot of them had multiple bookmarks in them. Gooigi procured a fat photo album from the shelf, opening it on the floor and laying in front of it on his stomach.

"Is this why you wanted me here?"

Gooigi nodded. He opened to a page and gazed at the photos. They were all from his previous ghost hunting adventures. Luigi was astounded at his confidence. He didn't show a lot of emotion on his face of course, but his poses in every picture were more than enough to tell what he was feeling.

Gooigi was oddly quiet and still, so Luigi put his hand on his head, hoping to glean what was going on in his head.

_I miss you, you know._

Luigi was a bit taken aback by that, "You miss me? But I'm right here..."

 _I mean when I'm out on the field._ Gooigi still didn't move, not even a little bit, _When I'm out ghost hunting alone, it's pretty cool, but I can't help but wish you were with me. I know it's incredibly selfish to think that, I know that you hate fighting ghosts, but I can't help it. It's not the same without you._

Ouch.

Luigi lay his free hand over Gooigi's, still over the album page, "I miss you too, sometimes. Whenever I'm out with Mario, I always feel like someone is missing. I bet you can imagine why."

Gooigi flipped his hand over to hold Luigi's on the page.

"Gooigi." Luigi said, trying to catch his eye, "What's wrong?"

His thoughts were absent from Luigi's head, so Gooigi was completely impassive. Finally, admiration mixed with cold fear bled through the link.

_All I've ever wanted was for you to be proud of me._

Luigi sighed, lifting his gaze to meet his own, "Gooigi, of course I'm proud of you. I've always been proud of you."

The fear vanished, replaced with hesitant surprise.

"You didn't think I'd be proud of you after all you've done?" Luigi sat him up, "You're incredible! I love your curiosity, and I'm impressed by just how much you've learned every day! I mean, on the day we met, you saved Mario's life despite me getting in your way, and you helped me save everyone! Including ourselves! You think I could have survived in that hotel without you?"

Gooigi didn't reply.

"I am so proud of you, Gooigi. I mean that with all my heart." Luigi let his gaze fall, "What surprises me is the fact that you even care about my opinion. Nobody cares what I think. They'd rather ask Mario or the princess."

_I can't even fathom that. Your opinion is worth at least as much as theirs. If someone as incredible as you is impressed with me, then maybe I'm doing just fine._

Luigi took his hand off of Gooigi's head, trying to collect his thoughts.

"You are." he agreed, "You're amazing at what you do, Gooigi. Maybe even better than me. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, okay?"

Gooigi crushed him in a gooy hug, _I don't know if I agree with that, but thank you._

Luigi reciprocated firmly, "You're welcome, bro."

They stayed like that for awhile, neither one of them making any move to pull apart or break the silence. Finally, they broke the hug, and Gooigi beckoned for Luigi's hand again.

_I know you wanted me to drop the subject, but I can't help but be curious. What is it that you feel for Princess Peach?_

And just like that, the peacefulness of the moment was shattered. Luigi felt his blush return, "U-ummm..."

_You don't have to answer. I can tell that you're embarrassed by it, though I can't imagine why. I just figured I'd ask while we're alone._

"Uh...no one else can hear you, right?"

_Not a soul. I swear._

Luigi pondered how to answer, but found that his thoughts were too jumbled to form anything coherent or concise. Finally, he took Gooigi's hand, hesitating a moment before placing it on his forehead.

 _It's complicated._ he thought, trying to project that into Gooigi's mind.

 _Don't worry, I can hear you._ was the response, _How is it complicated?_

Still holding Gooigi's hand to his head, Luigi sorted through the mess of tangled thoughts, letting go of Gooigi's head and drawing back so that his thoughts didn't distract him.

 _Whenever the princess is kidnapped,_ he began, _It's always Mario going off on his own. I usually help of course, but not always. Because it's always him saving her, a rumor started that the princess and my brother were in a relationship. They didn't do anything to correct the rumors, and when I asked Mario about it, he just waved me off with an, 'I'll save her no matter how many times she's taken.' I wasn't sure how to interpret the answer, but it was clear he cared a lot about her. After all, she's one of our best friends._

Gooigi stared at the floor, _That's the part I don't understand. What do you mean by 'in a relationship'? Is there a type of relationship I'm unaware of?_

Luigi was stunned, _You don't know the concept of couples?_

_No! I asked the professor once, but he refused to tell me! Something about me not being old enough!_

Luigi laughed, "Of course E. Gadd would say that. Why does that not even surprise me?"

He returned to the link, backing up in his story.

_Well, a relationship is just what you have with another person, whether they're a friend, family member, or one of your worst enemies, but when we use the phrase, 'in a relationship', we're usually referring to a romantic relationship. It's a relationship where you sort of act like friends, but there's something deeper going on. You remember when you met my parents a couple months ago? They're in this type of relationship, in fact they've been married for forty six years._

_Is that the purpose of marriage?_

_Yeah. It's to bind a couple under the law so they technically count as family. Well, I say 'couple', but romantic relationships can have more than two people in them. As long as there's honesty, trust, and communication, a 'couple' can have anyone so long as they're not too far apart in age or related genetically. I could go on, but you get the idea._

Gooigi considered the information for awhile, connecting the dots in his head.

_And...this is what you want with Princess Peach?_

Luigi dropped the link, "I don't know, Gooigi. I really don't know. I've thought about it before, but if it turns out that Mario does want to pursue her, I'd feel awful ruining that for him. Family comes first and all that, you know?"

Gooigi shook his head, taking Luigi's hand again.

_But Mario said it was okay._

Oh.

Luigi tried to hide his blush with little success, "Uhh...he could have said that just to make me feel better..."

_He seemed genuine to me._

"Yeah, but Mario is a genuine person, you know?" he couldn't stop his nervous laughter.

_Why are you deflecting it?_

"Deflecting what?"

_You're playing dumb!_

"No I'm not. Playing dumb? Me? No way! I never play dumb! What's that? Never heard of it!"

Gooigi suddenly stood up, his whole body reflecting shock.

"Uh..." Luigi scrambled to his feet, backing away quickly, "Gooigi? You good?"

Gooigi reached for his hand, and against Luigi's better judgement, he let him take it.

_I get it now._

Luigi swallowed the dread that threatened to rise up his throat, "What do you mean?"

Gooigi's eyelids rose over his eyes. It was eerie. It looked almost like a smile.

_You have a crush!_

The words were like a slap to the face.

"Oh golly jeez, would you look at the time!" more nervous laughter bubbled up before he could stop it, "E. Gadd prob'ly wants us back in the lab by now we're in the middle of a crisis remember oh wow look at that your room is lovely okayI'llseeyoudownstairssorrybye!"

He slammed the door behind him, taking the stairs two at a time and almost running into a skinny blue in his haste to get away. It wasn't that Gooigi had upset him, no. He just made him realize what he should have seen sooner. He ran down the guard hallway and slipped into the mudroom. He hoped nobody would disturb him here.

He slid down the mudroom door until he was lying on his back. He placed a shaking hand on his chest, feeling it pound against his ribcage as if it were trying to escape. He was confused, appalled, embarrassed, afraid, but mostly, he recognized the warmth blooming behind his breastbone. The tingly sensation that rose up his spine. A feeling of safety and contentment. A feeling of excitement. A feeling of trust that went deeper than his bones.

He couldn't deny it anymore. This wasn't just a simple crush.

Luigi was in love.

***


	9. Chapter 9

"Oh, yes! Incredible! This might actually work!"

Gooigi wasn't listening. After Luigi had left, Gooigi was overwhelmed with emotions from him. The prominent one being embarrassment, but also guilt and shame. Fear. Hopelessness. After Luigi was sure he was alone, a new sensation had assaulted his senses. It was a warm feeling. A feeling like lemonade on a hot day. A feeling of trust and hope. A feeling of love accompanied by memories of Peach that weren't his. Memories of Peach smiling and laughing. Memories of Peach holding his hands, whispering that things would be okay.

Gooigi glanced up at Peach, who was nodding along to whatever Mario was saying. Should he tell her? He didn't feel right keeping it from her, but Luigi had felt so vulnerable as he ran away. It wasn't really his place to say what was in Luigi's heart, so for the time being, he figured he'd keep it to himself. Luigi would say something when he was ready. Probably.

"Gooigi!"

Gooigi snapped out of the still-roiling emotions, _"Huh?"_

E. Gadd leaned forward in his chair, "You weren't listening at all, were you?"

Gooigi shrugged helplessly, letting a nervous laugh escape him.

Mario looked between them, "Well, I suppose we needed to go over the plan again anyway, seeing as Luigi isn't here."

"Luigi isn't here?" E. Gadd reassessed who was in the room, "Oh. I didn't even notice. Haha, silly me. Oops."

"Where did he go?" Peach said, "Gooigi, didn't you two leave together?"

Gooigi hesitantly nodded.

"Do you know where he is?"

Luigi didn't seem to be in a state where he wanted to be bothered, but Gooigi was getting increasingly worried about him, so he went to the door to beckon them outside.

Luigi must have caught on to what he was doing, because when the three of them were in the guard hall, a wave of panic washed over Gooigi and he grabbed the wall to scratch at his chest.

"Gooigi?"

Gooigi was _really_ worried now. He stumbled, running down the rest of the hallway to the entrance and then to the mudroom. He tried to open the door, but something was blocking it.

"Luigi?" Mario knocked on the door, "Are you in there? Are you okay?"

Gooigi touched his shoulder, trying to get him to back off a little. Luigi tried to get his thoughts in order, shooting Gooigi a mental apology for overwhelming him.

 _"Um, yeah bro. Just..."_ his voice came from the other side of the door, _"...just give me a second..."_

After about 20 more seconds, Luigi opened the door, rubbing his forehead like he had a headache.

"Hi, Luigi." Peach took his shoulder, "What happened?"

To Luigi's credit, even though Gooigi could feel his continued alarm and fear, he showed none of it on the outside as he gave Peach a soft smile, "Yeah, I'm fine. Just a bad headache."

Mario took his hand, "Do you need another advil?"

"No, I'll be fine. Thanks, though."

Gooigi could tell that Peach and Mario knew something was up, but they didn't say anything as they escorted him back to the lab.

"Ah! Luigi, my boy!" E. Gadd greeted upon his arrival, "Where did you go?"

"That doesn't matter. Did you need me for something?"

E. Gadd lay a hand on his keyboard, "We just wanted to go over the plan. As luck would have it, I have the perfect device to transfer Bowser's castle right here to Evershade Valley!"

"That's great!" Luigi was grateful for the distraction, even if it was leading him directly into danger, "So, how do we set it up?"

"Easy! I'll send a list of coordinates to Gooigi's 3D Scream. When you get to them, place one of these at each!"

E. Gadd lifted a disc-shaped device with the diameter of a watermelon, with suction cups on one side and glowing lights on the other.

"These are like those TV portals, but much more powerful! Unfortunately, they need access to a lot of power to work properly, too much to hook up to a portable battery. However, Bowser's castle has a huge generator because of all his complicated traps, so if you can reroute the power, the whole thing will have plenty of power to spare!"

Luigi shivered, "Wait, but that means..."

"If you fail, you could be electrocuted, I know." E. Gadd sent the heavy device through the pixelator, "But I do have a safety net for that. Gooigi can conduct electricity, but goo is also a natural insulator. As long as he is the one to set up the devices, if something goes wrong, he will be shocked, but it won't hurt him. Luigi, that means you need to stay out of his head when that happens."

Luigi gulped, "Yep. Got it."

"Oh! One last thing before you go!" E. Gadd held out his hand, "Give me your Scrammi-Coms."

The devices fell into his hands, and he fiddled with them for about 5 minutes. When he returned them, the buttons had tiny symbols on them.

"Now, not only can you use these to talk to me, you can also use them to talk to each other!"

Mario hit one of the buttons, and Luigi's Scrammi-Com beeped, "Will we really need that?"

"I certainly hope not, but you can never be too careful." E. Gadd sighed, "Luigi, this mission is going to be incredibly dangerous. Even more so than many things you've faced in the past. I...I'm sorry for forcing you into these situations so many times."

Luigi felt his lip quiver.

"I want to clear this with you before you go, in case it's the last time we speak face-to-face. I want you to be honest with me, okay?" E. Gadd hit him with the most serious glare Luigi had ever seen on him, "Are you sure you want to go?"

Gooigi felt admiration and appreciation bleed through their link. Luigi blinked as he felt a tear roll down his cheek.

"Thank you, E. Gadd." Luigi sniffed, wiping the tear away, "Yes, I'm sure. Someone has to do it, and I wouldn't dare let Gooigi go alone."

E. Gadd smiled, "That's what I thought you'd say, son. Alright. Take a moment to make sure you're ready, and then I'll send you through."

Mario pulled Luigi into a hug, "I'm really proud of you, bro."

Luigi laughed, "Thanks, bro."

"I mean it." Mario pulled back to look into his eyes, "You're so afraid of ghosts, and yet you fight them like a champion. I don't care what anyone says, you are the bravest man I've ever known."

Luigi didn't believe such praise towards him could be genuine, but Mario clearly wasn't lying. If he truly believed what he said, and Luigi knew his brother of all people was a good judge of character, then...

"But...I'm a coward."

"No, Luigi." Mario gave him a stern glare, "A coward would run, but you charge recklessly forward, even in the midst of crippling fear, as soon as you realize you need to suck it up and deal with it. You're a hero. That's what people need to get through their thick skulls. You're not a copy of me, you're your own person, and you are incredible. Do you understand?"

Luigi grabbed his brother, laughing as he spun him around in a circle. When he finally put him down, there was a ring of stars around his head to reflect his dizziness.

"Bro. Mario." Luigi was giddy, "Thank you! I didn't even think of that!"

"You're welcome, bro!"

Luigi noticed that Peach had a Poltergust on her back, but she was clearly burdened by it.

"Whoa, Princess." Luigi blocked her path to the pixelator, "Where do you think you're going with that?"

"Where do you think?" she crossed her arms, "I'm going with you! If it's really going to be as dangerous as E. Gadd says, then you could use all the help you can get!"

"No way!" Luigi placed a hand on her arm, "I'm sorry, but I can't let you do that."

"Why not?"

Peach was trying to use her regal voice on him, but it wasn't going to work this time.

"Because you don't know how to use the Poltergust. It takes time to get used to, in fact Mario has already gotten hurt trying to use it. Besides, your leadership skills would be much more useful here. We need someone to let the ally ghosts know what's going on."

Peach dropped her stern expression, "But what about the three of you?"

"We're used to this by now. We'll be alright." Luigi took her cheek in the palm of his hand, "Isn't that what you always say? That...things will be alright?"

Luigi's gaze didn't falter. Gooigi thought they must be under some kind of spell with how they were staring into each other's eyes. Luigi was full of that warmth and love from before, but with none of the existential panic. In its place was a sad kind of longing. He wanted to say something. The words trapped within his mind were on the tip of his tongue, just begging to be set free.

"Princess..." he said softly, his voice full of tenderness, "I..."

Gooigi expected him to confess right then and there. He _wanted_ to. He was _aching_ with the words that were left unsaid...but instead, Luigi pulled away, his eyes lowered to the floor.

"Stay safe, okay?"

Peach took a step back, "Okay. You too."

Luigi nodded, his heart heavy, "I promise. I'll make sure we come back safe. E. Gadd?"

"You're ready?"

"Yeah."

"Mario? Gooigi?"

"Yeah." _"Yeah!"_

Luigi couldn't look at Peach as the pixelator swept over him. Instead, he let his gaze settle on Mario, and his patient smile was the last thing he saw before he was torn from the safety of the lab.

***


	10. Chapter 10

Luigi landed on his chest, and it knocked the air out of him. E. Gadd had pixelated them into the throne room, which still had a Bowser-sized hole in the wall.

Luigi quickly got to his feet, briskly following Mario as he was already making his way towards the hole, but before he could get more than two steps, Gooigi stopped him.

_Why didn't you tell her?_

Luigi exhaled, whispering back towards him, _"Because I can't drop a bomb like that on her before going into danger. She would be reeling the whole time we were gone, and I can't do that to her."_

_But what if you never see her again?_

Ouch. That thought hurt.

_"I will."_ Luigi had conviction behind those words, _"I will see her again. You'll see."_

Gooigi wasn't in the habit of questioning Luigi, especially when he was so sure about himself, so he said nothing else as he followed close behind the other two.

Mario hadn't brought the Poltergust this time because he was more helpful without it, but he did have Luigi's flashlight, which was fitted with a strobulb. The hallway was completely dark, so he turned on the light and swivelled it around the empty hallway while Luigi and Gooigi climbed through the hole in the wall.

Luigi lost his grip and fell through, but Mario was quick to catch him, "Whoa! Thank you!"

"You're welcome." Mario set him on his feet, "I have a bad feeling. Stick close, okay?"

The three of them hurried to their first destination. Most of the portal discs needed to be outside, but there were a few needed on the inside for the sake of stability. If they didn't want the castle to transport in pieces, this meant the very bottom of the castle, and this was precisely why this trip would prove to be so dangerous. The basement of Bowser's castle was dangerous anyway, since it was full of even worse traps, many of which included lava fresh from the source, but today it was also teeming with ghosts. To make matters worse, Gooigi couldn't have the resistant upgrade this time because it made him weaker to electricity, so he would have to put up with the discomfort of being half-melted until they were done in the basement.

Luigi led the way down the stairs, and already he could feel sweat on his brow, "Oh boy. This'll be rough."

The basement was covered in charred rock, though the path they took was paved with lighter-colored bricks. As they walked, Luigi was feeling more and more stifled by the heat, and he knew he wasn't the only one as a familiar burning sensation prickled all over his skin.

Gooigi leaned on him for support, _"Ooohhhhh..."_

"I know, this sucks for you, huh?" Luigi tried to hold him up, but mostly just got hot goo between his fingers, "It's okay, we won't stay long. Hopefully. You can recall until we get there if you want?"

_"Nno."_

"Okay. It's your call."

They made it to the first coordinate without too much conflict. Luigi let go of Gooigi so he could place the device. It hummed as it activated, half the lights on it turning green.

"Okay..." Luigi's lungs took a mouthful of ashy air, and he coughed, "Gooigi, you're really melting now. You need to recall."

This time, Gooigi relented, returning to the tank to heal. Luigi felt the burning sensation completely disappear, and for the first time, Luigi wished he could join his little brother in that tank. From what he could tell, the Poltergust had a very efficient cooling system. He pulled his sweaty shirt off his chest, trying to get an airflow going across his skin. At least E. Gadd knew how to build resistant electronics.

Spectral gates appeared, and Gooigi tried to re-emerge.

"Wait, it's okay, Gooigi." Luigi stood back-to-back with Mario, "We got this. Ready, bro!?"

"Yeah!"

Once the final ghost met his end in the vacuum, the gates lifted, "Whew. I don't know how Bowser's minions can stand being down here. Let's hurry."

"Hey!"

Luigi lept a foot in the air at the sudden, monstrous voice.

Mario lifted an arm to shield the other two, "Bowser!"

Bowser was in one of the jail cells that lined the hallway. The brothers hadn't noticed the cells at first because they were either broken or just empty, but this one was intact, and, Luigi realized, this was the _real_ Bowser. This is where Bowser had been the whole time this calamity had gone down.

Bowser shrugged helplessly, "Think you could let me out of here?"

Mario rolled his eyes, "Why should we? We have things to do, and we don't want you to get in our way."

"What makes you think I'd get in your way!? I need to find that overgrown marshmallow and teach him a lesson for overthrowing my kingdom!"

Luigi's eyebrows flew into his hairline, "King Boo trapped you in there!?"

"Yes! And he's using _my kingdom_ to get revenge on _you!"_ Bowser seethed, smoke pouring from his nose and mouth, "I'll destroy you two later! For now, I need to seize this castle!"

Mario leisurely strolled over to the lock on the cell, giving the door a single tug to gauge its strength, "Do you know where the key is?"

"It's on the rack down the hall. Careful, though. It may be too hot for your fleshy hands to touch without getting burned."

Mario gestured for Luigi to follow him, and sure enough, there was a long hallway with a key rack, though it only had one key on it. Mario reached out to take it, but he hadn't even touched it when he recoiled.

"Yikes. Bowser's right, it's not safe to take."

Luigi scrutinized the metal of the key, noting how it was so hot it was almost glowing, "I have an idea." he took the nozzle of the Poltergust, sucking up the key so it got stuck on the end of the vacuum. He kept the vacuum on until the glow began to fade and the key was cool enough to handle.

"Nice." Mario took the key from him, "That thing can blow air too, right?"

"Yeah, but the smell of copper inside it makes me feel sick."

Mario unlocked Bowser's cell and pulled the door open.

"It's about time!" Bowser shoved him on his way out, "You two stay out of my way!"

Luigi helped his brother to his feet, "Yeesh. Not even a thank you?"

Mario smirked, "I'm not surprised. He's never been pleasant with me, I don't expect him to start now."

"Still. How rude."

The further they went down the hall, the worse the heat became. Luigi found himself panting, scratching his neck beneath his shirt. He took off his gloves and rolled his sleeves up, but the heat was still unbearable.

"At this point, I don't think it's safe to let Gooigi out." Luigi hit a button on his Scrammi-Com, "E. Gadd, it's getting too hot. Where's the next coordinate?"

_"Just up ahead! Don't worry, you only need four in the basement!"_

That was a relief, at least. Luigi was careful as he placed each device, and by the time they left the basement, their faces were completely flushed.

"Whew!" Luigi replaced his gloves and sleeves over his arms, "Wow. It almost feels cold up here."

Gooigi put an arm in front of him to stop him in his tracks. Luigi hadn't noticed him re-emerge.

"What's wrong?"

Gooigi made the sign for "Danger", then he pointed ahead.

"You're right. It's been too quiet." Luigi squinted in the darkness ahead, "Stick close, okay?"

The floor gave a violent rumble, and Gooigi trembled as he huddled close to the other two.

"Gooigi?"

Gooigi couldn't make any coherent signs, so remembering the link, he hastily took Luigi's hand, _Another goo!_

Luigi froze, remembering that conflicting living goo was one of the only ways Gooigi could feel real pain, "Where is it coming from? Come on, we need to-!"

A stab of pain through his chest stole his breath, and all he could think to do was shove Gooigi across the hallway.

"Luigi! Look out!"

Luigi was suddenly surrounded by something thick and suffocating. It tasted strongly of copper, and he swallowed in an attempt to not breathe the stuff in. He was falling, the slippery substance around him going turbulent.

When he registered that he had landed, his stomach had ballooned out, and it was expanding and contracting with a dizzying, nauseating pain.

Someone threw a bucket of water over his head, and suddenly he could breathe again.

"Luigi!" Mario dropped the bucket, "Are you okay!? Say something!"

Luigi coughed, making the pain in his stomach so much worse. It kept roiling and bubbling, manifesting as severe heartburn before he choked, and he pushed himself onto his hands and knees to begin throwing up. A slimy purple substance came up, partway between a solid and a liquid, and it stuck to his esophagus the whole way up, making him gag even as he was actively vomiting the contents of his stomach.

By the time he was done, his eyelids struggled to stay open. The copper smell and taste was even worse now, saturating his senses, but he couldn't find the strength to heave again. Mario tilted his head up, wiping his mouth with the back of his glove.

"Luigi?"

Luigi croaked, _"I'm fine."_ he was breathing heavily, _"Gooigi?"_

Gooigi didn't respond. Luigi did feel a strong sense of alarm through the link, though.

"Gooigi!?" Luigi shakily stood up, "Gooigi!"

_"Hellppp!"_

In the area they had fallen, Gooigi was behind a wall, visible between iron bars. Normally, Gooigi would be able to phase right through them, but no matter how hard he pushed against them, he was too sticky to morph.

"Gooigi?" Luigi touched him, and he had the consistency of hot glue, "What's going on!? What's wrong!?"

Gooigi tried to step away from the bars, but he was completely stuck to them. Luigi dipped into his mind for a second. Big mistake. He was hit with the worst nauseating pain he'd ever felt, accompanied by a feeling of being too hot and too cold simultaneously. Gooigi flinched weakly as Luigi drew back.

"Sorry!" Luigi looked the bars up and down, but could find no way through, "Mario, we have to go around. We can't pixelate without the 3D Scream, and we can't get Gooigi out from this side."

Mario glanced down the dark hallway, "I should stay with him. I wouldn't stand a chance against all those ghosts alone, and Gooigi is defenseless right now."

Luigi was about to object, but he already had an idea of where he would need to go in order to get to the other side. As soon as he could find a way out, he could probably swing back around afterwards.

Luigi let his mouth hang open before he finally sighed, "Alright. You'd better stay safe until I get back."

"I promise I will."

Luigi gave him a brief hug before heading down the hallway, disappearing around the corner until the beam of his flashlight was no longer visible. Mario placed a hand over Gooigi's, still stuck on the bars.

"It's okay, little bro." Mario soothed, "It's going to be okay."

Gooigi freed one of his hands, hesitating for a second before signing as best as he could with one hand.

Mario couldn't help but feel that the sight was incredibly sad. Gooigi finished signing, and Mario felt a rush of sympathy.

"Of course I see you as my brother." Mario replied, "I know you're closer to Luigi than you are to me, but I do love you. It's an absolute joy to have you in our lives."

Gooigi made a questioning sound.

"What? Are you doubting me?" Mario smiled sadly, "I can't help it. Peach calls it my 'older brother' instinct. I try to protect everyone. I like being the hero, and I like seeing people safe. You can imagine how odd it is for me to not be the main character for once."

They sat in companionable silence for a bit, the sound of ghosts in the ceiling just unnerving enough to be distracting.

"You know, Luigi talks about you all the time." Mario said, "Everything seems to remind him of you. Whenever you aren't over, Luigi is busy planning trips, packing suitcases with clothes and food and camera film in case you run out. He gets excited enough to bounce off the walls. He loves showing you all the world has to offer. He says it gives him a deeper appreciation for everything, and you know, I can't help but get excited too. Not just because Luigi's excitement is contagious, but also because getting to see you is the best part of my week."

Gooigi hummed, resting his head against Mario's. It was a little uncomfortable for him, but he'd be damned if he didn't allow the goo creature even a sliver of comfort.

"You're going to be okay." Mario told him, "I'm right here."

Gooigi was overcome with a sense of peace and safety. He had seen what Mario could do, and he didn't need a telepathic link to know that he meant what he said.

_"Thhaank youu."_

Mario was surprised at hearing Gooigi's garbled voice, but he quickly regained his composure, "You're welcome."

Gooigi tried to project some of that peace into Luigi's mind, hoping upon endless hope that he would come back unharmed.

***


	11. Chapter 11

Luigi's footsteps splashed in the shallow water. He hadn't recognized where the group had actually fallen until he had taken a closer look at the tunnel he was in. They were in an underground water system, like a well, and it made Luigi worry about what might happen to Gooigi if they were down here for too long. The place where they had fallen was dimly lit because of the torches in the castle hallway above, but now, aside from the flashlight, he was in pitch-black darkness. It was also freezing cold, a stark contrast to the heat from earlier. How far had they fallen? It was like they were in a cave system.

That was when Luigi felt the wash of peace from Gooigi through their link, and he held onto it with all his strength.

"Thanks, Gooigi." he muttered as he continued on.

That was when a metaphysical fog drifted over him, and his breathing and heart rate picked up.

As he kept walking, kicking up water as he did so, the fog descended further over him, like a blanket over his senses. The hallway suddenly felt too small as the darkness became heavier, the beam of his flashlight shrinking until it was impossible to confidently take any more steps.

Finally, Luigi stopped in the hallway, fearing he was slipping into the void. Then, he bolted.

He didn't stop sprinting until he ran directly into a wall, and then he scrambled to his feet to find the bend in the tunnel and kept running. The darkness continued to seep into him, slowly, like melting ice. He ran into another wall. He was crying now from fear and pain, already feeling a bruise forming on his nose from running into so many walls. He wouldn't let himself stop running. He couldn't see or hear anything around him, although, a creeping laugh began to assault his senses, all around him, as if it were coming from inside his head. He knew the laugh, too. Why was he so afraid? He had his Poltergust, and...

The Poltergust.

It was gone. He reached behind him, but it wasn't there. He felt the weight of it, but it wasn't there. He couldn't get to it.

Why? Where was...

Wait.

Luigi stopped to think, ignoring his fear for the moment. Had he passed out and entered a dream? No, he was sure he was still conscious. What did he know that could change his perspective? What could he use?

_Just give it up, Luigi._

Luigi's train of thought was shattered. It sounded like Gooigi, but Gooigi wouldn't tell him to give up.

_You're so tired, aren't you? Isn't it difficult to keep fighting? No one appreciates you anyway._

Luigi ignored the voice, his hands hovering in the air, as he counted his thoughts. He set them aside, organized them one by one, until he had an idea of what he could use.

_It's not your fault. It's okay to look after yourself every now and then. Just lay down for a bit, okay? We'll still be here when you wake up._

Luigi was beginning to feel sleepy. A nap sounded nice. His feet were sore, and he was still drowsy from being sick.

"No! Snap out of it!" he slapped his own face, "Focus! Your brothers need you!"

 _They're going to be fine, Luigi._ the voice was eerily soothing, _They don't need you. They never did._

Luigi lost his focus again, "N-no. They love me..."

_Yes, they love you, but that doesn't mean they wouldn't be fine if you suddenly disappeared._

"Shut up! I'm going to help them anyway, and you can't stop me!"

_I know. Go ahead, I won't try to stop you, but don't complain if it turns out to be a waste of energy._

Luigi's goal had completely left his head at this point. What was he going to do? He couldn't even see anything.

He rubbed his eyes, letting out a long breath of air.

"It won't be a waste." he said into the encroaching darkness, "I'm going after them because I want to help them. I know they'd be just fine without me, but I'm going to help them anyway because _I want to!"_

The voice didn't reply, so Luigi closed his eyes, feeling into the darkness for whatever he could get his hands on. He hit a button on the wall, and the hallway was illuminated in a bright florescent light.

"Luigi!"

Luigi reached for his flashlight. He had it. He had the Poltergust.

He spun to point the dark light into the hallway behind him, and a million illusion orbs exploded outward and escaped.

"Mario! Gooigi!"

He'd made it to the other side of the bars. Luigi wrapped both arms around Gooigi to pry him away, and he came free with a grunt.

"Okay, do you have the 3D Scream? I'm sending you back now!"

Gooigi tried reach into his body, but it wouldn't penetrate.

"Here, I can see it." the red device was suspended in the middle of Gooigi's abdomen, "I'll get it for you. Hold still."

Luigi pushed his hand through Gooigi's stomach, and he winced at the hot and sticky feeling. It was comparable to reaching into someone's guts, and Luigi forced himself to swallow so he wouldn't throw up again.

Gooigi leaned on him, shaking and sputtering as if he was crying.

"Hey hey, it's okay. I'm sorry." Luigi was in up to his wrist now, "I'll get you to E. Gadd, okay? You're going to be alright."

Gooigi wrapped his arms around his shoulders, crying out in pain, his voice breaking, his hold becoming tighter and tighter.

"I'm sorry, Gooigi. I'm so sorry." _Curse you, old man! What did you program into him!?_ "I've almost got it! _Almost...!"_

When he was in up to mid forearm, he firmly grasped the device and slowly pulled it out.

_"Oow! Oww! OW!"_

"Got it!" Luigi opened the device and called E. Gadd.

_"Luigi?"_

"Gooigi is hurt! You need to pixelate him back!"

_"Okay! Point the screen at him! I'm firing it up!"_

Luigi complied, turning the device towards Gooigi as he sat him up, "Hey, Gooigi, can you hear me? It's me, Luigi. I'm right here. Just hold still, okay? You're going to be okay."

Gooigi nodded, both hands on his chest.

"I'm sorry." Luigi ran a thumb over his sticky forehead, "I'll see you in a bit, okay? You're going to be okay, I swear."

Luigi took his hand back as Gooigi was pixelated out, and suddenly there was just the two of them.

Unfortunately, they had no further course of action. They didn't know how to get out, and Luigi wasn't about to go looking for an exit after _that_ ordeal. So, for the time being, they were stuck.

Mario reached between the bars to take his brother's hand, "Luigi?"

Luigi tried not to feel guilty, but he couldn't keep something like this from him. Not when they could likely die at any moment. So, while the 3D Scream loaded Gooigi's pixels through, Luigi decided to fill the silence.

"Mario..." he took a deep breath, "I...I'm in love with your princess."

Saying it out loud like this felt better than he was expecting. It was like his heart had shaken off the dust and grown wings. He smiled blissfully. He still felt guilty, but at least he wouldn't die without saying anything.

"Luigi." Mario said seriously, "Thank you for telling me, but I already knew."

Luigi stared at him.

"What?" he fell to his knees in front of the bars, "What do mean you already knew?"

"Bro, it's obvious." Mario knelt across from him, "Every time you've ever had a crush, it's written all over your face. You wear your heart on your sleeve, you know? For crying out loud, you once compared Peach's hair to sponge cake and yellow lillies!"

Luigi opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Uhhh..." he rubbed the back of his neck, "And it doesn't bother you?"

"Why would that bother me?"

Luigi made a choking noise, "Because I thought _you_ liked her!"

"I don't!" Mario threw his hands up, "I don't like her in that way! I love her dearly, but as a friend!"

"But what about all those rumors that you were dating?"

"You know not to take rumors seriously!"

"What about all those times you saved her!?"

"I saved her because it's the right thing to do!"

Luigi knew, logically, that his story was falling apart, but it still baffled him that he had been so wrong.

"Luigi." Mario adjusted Luigi's hat when it fell askew, "I want you to tell her as soon as we see her again."

Luigi paled, "No! I'd be so embarrassed! What if she doesn't feel the same!?"

Mario had the nerve to laugh in his face.

"This isn't funny, bro!"

"Oh, Luigi. You'd be surprised." Mario wiped a tear from his eye, "I guarantee you won't embarrass yourself."

Luigi was trying to figure out what that could possibly mean when the 3D Scream beeped. Gooigi had made it to the lab.

"So..." Luigi held it out, "Who should go next?"

Mario gently took the device from him.

"I think you should go next."

"Huh? But what about..."

He didn't bother to finish the thought.

"It's you King Boo is after." Mario said, "At worst, I'll be kept as bait, but you would be his centerpiece. He may simply escape with his prize as soon as I disappear."

Luigi tried to argue, but he had a point.

Plus...and a part of him hated himself for this...he didn't want to be alone in here.

Luigi gave up with a sad smile, "Promise you'll get back through the 3D Scream?"

Mario turned the screens to face him, "Promise."

And with that, Luigi closed his eyes as he disappeared into the device.

***

Luigi lost his balance as soon as he materialized in the lab, falling backwards into a box of blueprints.

"Goodness, Luigi!" E. Gadd grabbed his arm to yank him out, "What on earth happened back there!? Gooigi came back a complete mess!"

Luigi shook his head to clear some of his dizziness, "What was wrong with him?"

"His frequency was wrong!" E. Gadd was flitting about the lab like a confused bird, "It was completely scrambled! I've never seen anything like it before! Of course, it means Gooigi is in a lot of pain, but this could also be an opportunity to learn more about goo!"

"This is not the time, old man!" Luigi pressed two fingers into the bridge of his nose, "Can the research! _Help him!"_

"I'm trying, but nothing is helping! I even tried diluting him with coffee, but anything I try makes no difference!" E. Gadd suddenly froze, placing both feet on the ground, "Is there something wrong with your telepathic link?"

"What?" Luigi glanced up, seeing Gooigi miserably lying on the desk, unable to recall or shapeshift, "Why would that change anything?"

E. Gadd reached into a box at his feet, procuring a tiny flashlight, "Luigi, did you get any offending goo on you?"

"Uh..." Luigi scratched his head, "I swallowed some of it...?"

Neither of them spoke for awhile.

"Is that a question?"

"Er, no."

"Are you joking?"

"I..." Luigi shrugged, "...vomited, if that helps?"

E. Gadd clicked the flashlight on, "Luigi, open your mouth."

He did, and E. Gadd inspected his teeth, tongue, throat, and the inside of his cheek.

"Maybe that's it." E. Gadd ran to grab something, "Luigi, inert goo is edible, but living goo can have a bad reaction to hydrochloric acid. Here, drink a lot of water. It should dilute the substance until it becomes harmless."

"But I threw most of it up." Luigi pushed the offered bottle away, "And besides, I feel really sick. I can't drink a bunch of water."

"Even a little can be hazardous, my boy!" E. Gadd forced the water into his hands, "Please. If you don't dilute it, it could concentrate in your bloodstream and kill you! Just drink a little, at least!"

Luigi sighed, "Fine, but you need to get me a bucket in case I throw up again!"

"Fine by me, just get drinking!"

Luigi's stomach protested the action, but he forced himself to take a few gulps of water. It came back up _fast._ E. Gadd handed the bucket over as soon as he saw the alarm in Luigi's eyes. Still, after Luigi was done throwing up, he did feel a lot better.

"Try to keep at least some of it down." E. Gadd went back to Gooigi's side.

Luigi spit into the bucket, wishing he could just get rid of the taste, "Why would Gooigi be like this if I'm sick?"

"Because of stress." E. Gadd ran his eyes over the device that scanned Gooigi, "If you're in a lot of pain, he's going to feel that because you'll be too far gone to block it. Gooigi isn't accustomed to that kind of pain, so his body will react by becoming more viscous. Remember when that happened in the hotel?"

"So how do we fix it?"

"Well, first of all, you need to retract your mind from his."

Luigi didn't notice before, but he'd had a buzzing pain in the back of his head this whole time, "Oh my god! I'm so sorry, Gooigi!"

He couldn't even imagine how Gooigi would perceive the pain of an upset stomach.

"Luigi, it's fine." E. Gadd said, "Just pull back now."

Luigi forced his thoughts to unscramble and recede from Gooigi's mind.

"Is that better?" Luigi stood up, "I'm sorry."

"In order to end a reaction like this, he needs to feel safety, and more importantly, he needs to feel safety from _you."_ E. Gadd brought him to the desk, "It will take awhile, and you probably need to rinse the rest of that goo off. If this doesn't work, then..."

Luigi didn't let him finish, "Can I get a toothbrush?"

"Huh? Oh! Of course!" E. Gadd ran off, "One moment!"

He returned with a toothbrush sealed in a plastic package, and Luigi took it to the bathroom to brush his teeth. He also stepped into the shower fully-clothed to rinse all the goo off his body. He wasn't dumb enough to take a proper shower in a haunted house. By the time he returned, Gooigi was already forming properly, and he only improved when he saw Luigi, safe and sound.

"He's still a little viscous, but he's doing much better now." E. Gadd went back to the readings, "The foreign goo caused this reaction initially, but Luigi, maybe next time you shouldn't try to save him like that."

"How was I supposed to know it wouldn't-!" he cut himself off, "Wait...where's Mario?"

E. Gadd registered the words, then he looked at his computer monitor.

"He never-!" E. Gadd began furiously typing, "Oh dear! I swear I set the computer to send him in the second you came through!"

"Wait, what!?" Luigi's heart dropped, "What happened!?"

"The pixelation process failed!"

Luigi staggered backward, holding the desk even as the floor seemed to cave beneath him.

"Wait, the pixelation..." Luigi imagined Mario getting stuck within the pixelator, never to repixelate.

"No, you don't understand!" E. Gadd turned to face him, "The pixelation failed because there was nobody to pixelate! It tried, but there was nothing there!"

Luigi forced himself up on shaking legs, "Wait, but that means...!"

"That's right." E. Gadd said, light reflecting off his glasses, "Something must have taken him."

Luigi's head fell onto the desk.

"Don't worry, I'm positive he's still in Bowser's castle." E. Gadd fired up the pixelator again, "If you succeed in placing every teleportation disc, getting him back will be a piece of cake."

Luigi eyed Gooigi, who had just stood up to join him.

"Hm..." E. gadd continued, "I don't want to send you in there alone, but Gooigi..."

Gooigi shook his head, making the sign for "me".

Luigi placed a tentative hand on Gooigi's arm. It's consistency was that of jello, just as it usually was.

"How about this;" Luigi told him, "If you can recall, we'll go through the pixelator together."

Gooigi recalled easily, and Luigi prepared to go.

"Here." E. Gadd handed him his old Duel Scream, "If you start to feel sick again, get back here immediately. Even ingesting a tiny amount of living goo can cause copper toxicity and liver failure."

"You have my word." Luigi stashed the device, "Okay. Send me through."

E. Gadd fired up the device, and Gooigi sent Luigi gentle reassurances until they were on the other side.

***


	12. Chapter 12

Luigi emerged inside an abandoned house in Bowser's kingdom. He was incredibly disoriented at first. He thought he was falling, but then he was suddenly upright again. On top of that, the sticky haze in his thoughts had returned full-force, except this time it had fully engulfed him.

He realized what had happened when he opened his eyes, and noticed that the world seemed far more green than he was used to.

He looked to the side to see...well, to see himself. His body was slumped over, eyes closed and breathing peacefully.

_This is incredible!_ Gooigi's thoughts came through, _You're inside my head!_

Luigi panicked a little, _What!? How did I do that!? How do I go back!?_

_Relax, you must have done it by accident. Just pull back, like you've already done._

Luigi concentrated, and after a bit of residence, he jerked his head up, back in his own body.

"Whew." Luigi turned towards Gooigi, "Can you do that with other goos?"

_I don't know. I've never trusted another goo enough to link with them, let alone allow them to do what you just did, but I assume it's possible. This isn't what most goo creatures use this ability for, as you can imagine._

Their telepathic link was strong enough now that they didn't need to be in contact with each other anymore to project their direct thoughts.

"Right." Luigi shook the pins and needles from his frame, glancing outside the window, "Any reason the old man might have dropped us outside the castle?"

_Probably to avoid whatever attacked us in there. Although, I don't think it'll try lunging at us again, considering what happened to that chunk of it you swallowed._

Luigi gulped, "Yeah. Feeling's mutual, buddy."

Seeing nothing threatening outside, Luigi returned his attention to Gooigi, "Hey, if I can go inside your head, does that mean you can go inside mine?"

_Yes, but I wouldn't dare attempt that without your permission._

"Why?"

Gooigi shuffled his feet, _Because it's very...taxing. I will have a direct connection to your mind. It will be more difficult to block your thoughts from reaching me. Because most people value their privacy, and because it’s not a very pleasant experience otherwise, I wouldn't do it unless they trusted me._

The idea was a little daunting, but Luigi took a deep breath to calm himself, "I mean...I've already forced my thoughts onto you by accident way too many times, so maybe it's only fair. You have my permission."

Gooigi took his hands, _Are you sure? You're putting a lot of trust in me._

"Well, I trust you." Luigi felt it as he said it, "Just...will you allow me to back out if I hate it?"

_Of course._

"Then go ahead. I know you wouldn't mess around with my head."

Gooigi stared at him for a second before he let go.

_Thank you, Luigi. I'm honored that you trust me. Okay. Here I go._

Luigi felt it immediately. Gooigi completely saturated all of his thoughts and emotions. His entire being was being swallowed up by Gooigi. He felt his panic rise a little bit, but it didn't hurt, and Gooigi didn't push too hard on his mind, so he tried to relax until it was over.

He felt his body move on its own as Gooigi inspected himself, seeing through Luigi's eyes, "Wow. Oh my goodness. Your voice is so clear! No wonder talking is so easy for you!"

Luigi almost went to nod before remembering he gave up control, _This is weird._

"So, you're okay? You're not overwhelmed or anything?"

_No, I'm fine. It's just really weird._

"I'm not surprised. If you're not a goo, telepathic links can feel crowded. Maybe it's the limitation of a physical body."

Gooigi's body had slumped over with nobody controlling it. Gooigi looked out through the window, marvelling at all the colors he could see.

"Wow." Gooigi placed a hand flat on the glass, "This is so strange. Everything feels so solid."

Luigi watched him explore a bit more before he thought, _We should probably move on. Can you go back, please?_

"Oh, of course. Sorry."

Gooigi jumped up, back in his body, and Luigi settled into his own like a perfectly-fitted mold.

_I lost track of time, I think._

"Yeah, I noticed." Luigi brought out his flashlight before opening the door, "Okay, let's set up the rest of those portal discs."

Before they made it to the castle though, another thought came to Luigi, _I'm so sorry I established this link without your consent. I feel horrible about it. I didn't mean to._

"Hey, Gooigi, it's okay."

_No it's not! You didn't ask to link with me, and I had no idea you would be okay with it! Having invading thoughts is not something to be taken lightly!_

"Gooigi! Hey, listen to me!"

Gooigi covered his face when Luigi turned him towards himself. The poor guy looked to be on the verge of tears.

"It's okay. Do you hear me?" Luigi took his hands to lower them from his face, "I mean it. I'm not mad at you. I'm actually honored that you trust me so much, you linked with me without realizing it. Don't be mad at yourself, okay? You don't need to be sorry."

Gooigi could feel that he meant what he said, so he nodded, _Okay. I just...I thought you would hate me for it..._

"I could never hate you, Gooigi." Luigi gave him a hug, "Never. I love you. Nothing could ever change that."

Gooigi hugged him back, _Thank you. I love you too, bro._

Luigi smiled, "Okay, let's get this job done and save Mario!"

_"Okay!"_

Upon entering the castle, it was clear the place was on lockdown. All the lights were off, and it was eerily quiet. All the doors and windows that weren't broken were boarded up with iron bars. It was so dark that Luigi had that sensation of a blanket over his head, at least wherever their flashlights didn't reach.

Luigi took Gooigi's hand, "You can see farther ahead, right?"

Gooigi projected what he could see into Luigi's mind, and indeed, though it was dim, Gooigi could see down the hall.

"Thanks."

Luckily, most of the portal devices just went along the outside of the castle in a wide circle, so they didn’t have to spend long inside the building. Once Gooigi had placed the final disc, Luigi led both of them back inside.

"Okay, so the only thing left is the power?"

Gooigi stopped him as he was about to run, _Don't! This is going to be dangerous, I'd better go alone._

"What? Don’t be ridiculous!" Luigi held him back, "I didn't come with you on this mission to watch you go into danger without me!"

_But you'll be near the power grid! If you touch a live wire, you could die!_

"So!?"

Gooigi stopped.

_So? What do you mean 'so'!? Do you value your own life that little!?_

"No, that's not..." Luigi tried again, "Listen, I get that it'll be dangerous, but your life is on the line too. I want to protect you."

Gooigi took his hand, leading him further into the darkness, _Thank you, but you need to let me do this. If it helps, I will allow you to go as far as you can without being near the power grid. I will not allow you to go any farther than that._

"O-okay." Luigi hurried to keep up, "Does E. Gadd know where the power grid is?"

_It runs underneath the floor, between the ground floor and the basement._ Gooigi held out his hand for the Duel Scream, _May I?_

Luigi wordlessly handed it over, and Gooigi opened it up to download a floor plan.

_The generator is in this room of the basement._ Gooigi showed him, _I know, it's in the far back._

"And it's really out of the way..." Luigi whistled, "Nice job. Is this how you handle missions alone?"

_For the most part. The professor allows me access to his entire online network, provided I take good care of his gadgets._

"That's really cool."

_You think that's cool? You should see what I can do with the super-suction on the Poltergust._

"Oh, I can only imagine. That thing could take out an army."

Gooigi led the way into the basement, despite the way he staggered from the heat. They heard the generator before they saw it, as it was making _a lot_ of noise. As soon as it came into view, Luigi's eyes grew as wide as saucers.

Luigi cursed loudly in Italian as he yanked Gooigi away from it, "No wonder this generator can support the whole castle! It's not up to any safety regulations!"

_How can you tell?_

"How can I tell!? Just _look_ at it!" Luigi swept his eyes over the clanking machine, "It's not even bolted to the floor! And look at those frayed wires! This thing is a _mess!"_

Gooigi took a few tentative steps towards it, _I assume you could build a better one?_

"Easily! In my sleep!" Luigi inspected the battery to make sure it wasn't expanding or glowing, "Mario and I are private contractors, so we install power grids all the time, and this one has to be at _least_ a hundred years old!"

Gooigi reached for Luigi's Poltergust, _Hold still._ He retrieved a green electric spark from it, unwinding it and finding the end.

"Uh...what are you doing?"

_What does it look like I'm doing?_ Gooigi stretched the wire from the Poltergust towards the generator, _Don't worry, the Poltergust is designed to handle high amounts of power safely._

"I know. That's not what I'm worried about."

Gooigi glanced up at him when he was about a foot away, _Do not enter my mind while I do this. I don't want to know what getting shocked feels like._

"Right. Me neither." Luigi pulled back on their link as far as he could.

Gooigi plugged in the cord and stepped back, _Do not touch this wire._

"I won't."

Gooigi took his hand and led him down the hall, _Now all that's left to do is connect it to the grid we used on the discs._

"So where's that?"

Gooigi checked the map in his other hand, _Right about..._

They stopped when a spectral gate blocked their path.

_Arg! You have to be kidding me!_ Gooigi shielded Luigi from the sudden appearance of ghosts, _Stay here! Don't use the vacuum!_

It wasn't a huge crowd, so Luigi stood on the sidelines while Gooigi took care of the ghosts. He didn't like the way the Poltergust was buzzing from its connection to the generator. He knew the machinery could easily handle it, but that didn't mean it wasn't making him nervous. He was so distracted by the sound that he didn't notice a fist coming at his face until it was too late to dodge.

_Luigi!_

Luigi braced for impact, but there was none. Instead, Gooigi launched himself at the attacker, hitting her with the flashlight so she tumbled to the floor.

"Huh?" Luigi opened his eyes.

Gooigi scrambled to his feet. The three remaining ghosts were stunned enough by what they had seen that they made themselves vulnerable to the light, and they met their end in the vacuum.

Gooigi huffed, _Great. I severed the wire. Now we have to do this all over again._

Luigi was stuck in place until he saw Gooigi at the doorway, "Hey, Gooigi, I'm sorry."

_It's okay. I expected this to happen at least once._ Gooigi took his arm, _Hey. I mean it, okay? I'm not mad at you._

Luigi slowly nodded as he felt Gooigi's sincerity, "Alright."

They headed back to the generator, where Gooigi plugged in the wire, and they once again made their way towards the nearest disc. They ran into conflict a few more times, but Luigi was better at avoiding it this time, and before they knew it, they were on the final stretch.

_Okay, once we plug this in, we're going to need to brace ourselves. The teleportation will be instant, so it may be unpleasant..._

His thoughts were halted when the ground rumbled beneath them. They were both confused, until they heard the sound of rushing water.

Luigi hit the recall button, "Gooigi? Gooigi, re-!"

A wall of rushing water hit him, and he instinctively covered his mouth to stop an involuntary gasp. The water was freezing cold, a huge contrast to the prior heat of the basement. He felt his consciousness slip as he went flowing down the staircase. He struggled to maintain a sense of direction. He forced his eyes to stay open. He forced his mouth and nose to stay shut despite how much his lungs were crying for air-!

Finally, he hit a wall. His head broke the surface, and he watched in absolute horror as what remained of Gooigi went down the drain.

***


	13. Chapter 13

Luigi had nothing.

He saw nothing, he heard nothing, and he felt nothing.

He saw the grate come into view before he heard crying. The crying was his own, he realized. He was sobbing uncontrollably over the grate, hiccuping and gasping. By the time he had stopped dissociating though, he just felt cold and empty. The constant presence of Gooigi's feelings in the back of his head that he had become so used to was now absent, making his head feel hollow and confirming his worst fears.

He apathetically watched each remaining tear fall between the slates of the drain in the floor. Gooigi still had so much left to see. So much left to learn. He couldn't just be gone. Luigi was dreaming, he had to be. He'd never felt this kind of grief before in his life, not even when he was forced to say goodbye to Luma for the last time.

Gooigi didn't deserve to die.

Luigi didn't _have_ nothing, though. He still had to save Mario. He still had to stop King Boo. He still had to tell the princess how he felt.

But would he be able to? Feeling like this? Without his trusty partner?

Luigi jumped when the Duel Scream began to ring. He took it from where it had fallen on the ground, and answered it with an aching heart.

_"Luigi, I saw the trap over my network! Are you okay?"_

He stopped when he saw the state of him. Luigi had just begun to register the physical pain he was in; The bruises forming on his cheek and shoulder from where he'd slammed into the wall. He was aching from physical exertion, and he was dehydrated from crying.

_"Luigi..."_ E. Gadd said, much softer than his usual tone, _"What happened?"_

Luigi felt another sob wrack his body, tears blurring his vision.

"I lost him!" he managed to choke out, "I lost Gooigi! He got hit by the water before he could recall! It's all my fault! How could I let him die!? He was my brother!"

E. Gadd didn't respond. At first Luigi was worried he'd hung up, but no, the call was still connected, he just wasn't in frame.

Finally, E. Gadd's voice came out too quiet, _"Luigi, I'm bringing you back."_

"No." Luigi felt his hands shaking as they held the Duel Scream, "I still need to plug in the power grid..."

_"Luigi, you are in no state to do anything of the sort!"_ E. Gadd's voice had force to it, but Luigi could tell that he was shaking too, _"You need to get back here now! You can't touch the wire without getting shocked, and you've already been out for too long! I'm bringing you back now! That's an order!"_

Luigi hung up and tossed the Duel Scream to the floor, taking the stairs two at a time to follow the path the water had taken.

"Sorry, old man." he said as he ran, "But I'm not listening to you this time."

He found the compartment for the wire on the Poltergust. The first thing he did was retrieve a red mushroom, the last in his stock. It couldn't help him with tiredness, but it would help heal his injuries, at least. He forced himself to chew and swallow despite how sick he felt, and he hurried on his way as soon as the dizziness subsided.

He headed to the portal disc nearest to the generator, then he swept his flashlight up and down the corridor between the two points. If he found a ghost, he would suck it up. His goal was to get rid of the rest of the obstructions that could interrupt the wire's path. His muscles screamed at him to stop, his lungs burning as they struggled for more oxygen, but he willed himself forward. He knew that if he allowed himself to stop, even for a moment, he may not be able to finish this job, and his life would be in danger.

After freeing the wire from the depths of the Poltergust, Luigi took a deep breath. If he was subjected to the full force of this poor-quality generator, he would be electrocuted, and he would die. No extra lives. No second chances. It would be the "bad end", he thought bitterly, but he was ready. He could do this, if only to make sure that Gooigi's death wasn't in vain.

Luigi took the end of the wire in his vacuum nozzle, then he fired it at the generator. He squeezed his eyes shut when the Poltergust lurched at the raw source of power, but he was fine. He quickly made his way down the hall, freeing the other side of the wire from the Poltergust using the vacuum and sprinting as fast as his legs could carry him.

"Okay. Here goes nothing."

Luigi aimed the wire at the disc, then he fired.

It connected. The force of the electrical discharge threw him back against the wall, and he collapsed with no strength left to get up. The disc began to spin as every light on it glowed a bright fluorescent green.

And then the whole cavern gave a massive rumble.

Luigi wasn't sure what happened to him after that. Maybe he died and the connection was a fluke. He wondered if he would get to see Gooigi again. He drifted off restless and fearful, but maybe they still had a chance. Maybe he hadn't been too late and the attack was going as scheduled. He hoped so.

_"Hey!"_

The voice was distant and fuzzy. He thought he vaguely recognized it, but he wasn't sure.

_"Luigi!"_ he felt someone shaking him, _"Luigi, wake up!"_

He shook the fogginess off as the memories came back. He looked up towards whoever was talking to him, and came face-to-face with a ghost!

"AAAAAHH!!!" Luigi instinctively hit them with the flashlight and began sucking them up.

"Ack! Stop, stop! Luigi, it's me!"

Luigi let go, "Shady!?"

"Who else!?" Shady shook off her shivers, "The old man sent me to find you! Honestly, is that any way to greet a friend?"

Luigi gasped as he forced himself to his feet, "Shady, I'm so sorry!"

"Hey man, it's cool. It is kinda my bad for startling you." she fiddled with a device in her hands, "E. Gadd told me to send you back immediately, so that's what I'm gonna do. I just wanted to make sure you were alive first."

Luigi stared at her, then at the deactivated portal disc, "Wait, if you're here then..."

"Then you succeeded. The castle is in Evershade, and the attack is underway." she pointed the screen of her device towards him, "Now good luck, my dude. The old man is _not_ happy."

Luigi kept his gaze on her as he pixelated out, "I can live with that."

***

Once he materialized back in the lab, he shrugged the Poltergust off his aching shoulders. E. Gadd was staring at his hands on the desk, completely silent. He didn't even acknowledge Luigi as he approached.

Luigi leaned on the desk, "E. Gadd?"

"Is it true?" he said finally, "Did you lose Gooigi?"

Luigi was hit with another wave of grief, "Yes."

E. Gadd's hands became fists. Luigi glanced up at the computer screen, noting that it was focused on the water trap in Bowser's castle. The very same one that had swept Gooigi away.

Luigi sat in one of the folding chairs in the lab, "I'm sorry."

E. Gadd lay his head in his arms and began to softly cry.

Luigi felt his whole being cave in. He couldn't stand hearing people cry, and it reminded him so painfully of how he had failed. He shook with renewed sobs that he tried to hold back, but he just couldn't. He leaned over, hiding his face in his hands, as he shed even more bitter tears.

"E. Gadd..." Luigi sniffed, rubbing his eye with the heel of his palm, "There's no way to get him back, _is there?"_

He said it so hopefully that it even broke his own heart. E. Gadd lifted his head, wiping his tears away beneath his glasses.

"I'm trying, but I can't see through all these tears..."

"Just try. Gooigi isn't like a normal person, right? He can't be gone forever! Right!?"

"I don't know..." E. Gadd took a sharp breath of air, "I...I need to know if Bowser's water system is closed. If it was ever emptied into a river or the ocean, then it would be impossible to save him. I'll..." he straightened up, going back to his keyboard, "I'll see what I can figure out."

Luigi watched him type, and his mind just kept wandering over to Gooigi. His laugh, his hugs, the way he would explore, the way he would take pictures of everything. He prayed to whatever deity might exist that it wasn't too late. That Gooigi had more time.

Luigi felt arms around him from behind, and he stiffened.

"Luigi? What's wrong?"

Luigi reached for the voice, his arms wrapping around Mario.

"You're real, right? This isn't a dream?"

Mario held the back of his head, running his fingers through his brother's hair, "I sure hope so. You looked like you needed comfort, so here I am."

Luigi looked up at him. Mario was a little worse for wear. His eyes were sunken in like he'd lost a lot of sleep, and he had a few cuts and scratches on him. Still, with how bad Mario looked, Luigi was sure he looked much worse.

"Are you okay, Luigi?"

Luigi shook his head, "We accidentally triggered a trap in Bowser's castle. Gooigi got washed away."

"Oh no." Mario stumbled back, "No, no...he can't..."

"I'm so sorry!"

Mario grabbed him in another hug, and they began to cry together.

"You two! Please!" E. Gadd grabbed a tissue to blow his nose, "I'm trying to focus!"

Luigi led Mario out of the room. The manor was eerily quiet, probably because the ghosts were all helping with the attack.

"I'm sorry."

"Luigi, don't." Mario hugged him again, "Don't do that, okay? It wasn't your fault."

"But I still feel awful..."

"I know, I know..."

Luigi relaxed his hold on him, "Where's Polterpup?"

"I don't know. I just got back."

Luigi turned away, cupping his hands around his mouth, "Here, Puppy! Here, Polterpup!"

Polterpup came barreling through the wall, barking excitedly at the prospect of pats.

"Polterpup!" Luigi caught him out of the air, "Hey, Puppy! Good boy!"

It made him feel a little better knowing his dog was still with him. He knew Polterpup was a ghost, but he didn't know what he'd do without him.

He stayed like that, taking comfort in Mario and Polterpup's presence. Polterpup was ecstatic. Luigi was clearly sad, but he was making him happy! And he was a good boy!

"Luigi!" the lab door flew open, "Luigi, I figured it out! It may not be too late!"

Luigi's heart swelled with so much hope and relief that it hurt, and he felt more tears gathering as he ran back inside.

***


	14. Chapter 14

"Tell me what you figured out!"

"With pleasure!" E. Gadd jumped back into his chair, "Bowser's water traps are a completely closed system! And better yet, the water inside them goes through a filtration system! All the matter that makes up Gooigi's being has likely been caught in it!"

"Wait wait, so..." Luigi jumped in place, "We can still save him!?"

"Maybe, but we have to act fast! The filtration process will break the goo down overtime!"

Luigi grabbed the Poltergust, "Tell me what I have to do!"

"You need to find the maintenance panel for the filter!" E. Gadd brought up the map on his computer, "Its holes are close enough together that the goo has likely collected in it!"

E. Gadd reached into his desk drawer for a machine that resembled a butterfly net, but it was glowing a ghostly green aside from the handle, which was made of various electronic components.

"Use this to collect the goo." he handed the net to Luigi, "Now, you need to remember to get every last drop! Not one molecule of goo can be left behind! Gooigi is exactly one thousand milliliters, so use the gauge on the Poltergust's tank to determine if you have everything!"

"Got it!"

"Okay! I'm sending you through!" E. Gadd handed him one last gadget; The old Gameboy Horror, "Please don't lose this one. I don't have any screen communicators left."

Luigi pocketed it.

"I've given you the map. Good luck."

Luigi landed in the hallway of Bowser's castle. The second he regained his footing, he bolted to the maintenance panel for the water trap, using the Gameboy Horror to guide him. He found it near the generator room, which was still noisily clanking away. He ran a hand over it, trying to find a place where he could grab it, but instead decided to hit it with a plunger and yank it off with the vacuum. Turning on the flashlight, he crawled inside, only barely able to fit with the Poltergust on his back. He emerged in a tiny room with a low ceiling, though he was still able to stand up in it.

He found the filter, shutting off the flow of water before pulling it out. Sure enough, it was full of green goo, which fell to the floor as soon as the filter was free from the narrow space of the filtration duct. Luigi retrieved the net. As he scooped up Gooigi's remains, the net passed right through the floor and the filter, but it caught the goo just fine. He set the Poltergust on the ground, hitting the recall button with the net right up next to the tank.

He kept doing this until he could find no more goo left. He detached the tank and set it on the floor.

"One thousand. Perfect." Luigi replaced the tank and put the Poltergust on his back, "Don't worry, Gooigi. I'll save you."

***

Luigi thought he might have a heart attack. As soon as he was back in the lab, he came face-to-face with the one person he never wanted to see again.

King Boo himself was in E. Gadd's lab.

"Relax, plumber." King Boo said, "I'm not here to fight."

Luigi tried to keep his breathing under control, but his heart was still pounding, "What?"

Mario helped him stand, "He came here to ask for help."

Luigi blinked, "Okay whatever, I don't have time for this! E. Gadd, I got him!"

"Excellent! Bring him here!" E. Gadd took the tank off the Poltergust, "This will take some time. I'll let you know when I've got him back!"

"Wahoo!" Luigi spun in a circle, overcome with a kind of happiness he hadn't felt in a long time. Polterpup took advantage of Luigi's bliss to beg for more pats, and Luigi was all too eager to reciprocate, "Did'ya hear that, Puppy!? It might not be too late! We could still get Gooigi back!"

Polterpup responded by giving him a sloppy dog kiss.

King Boo rose one eyebrow, "What now? You mean that gooy copy of you?"

Luigi scratched Polterpup under his collar, "Why are you here?"

"Well, uh..." King Boo retracted his tongue into his mouth, "Because I messed up."

Luigi couldn't even wrap his head around what he had just heard, so Mario decided to fill him in.

"He accidentally opened a portal to the paranormal plane and can't figure out how to close it."

Luigi cried out so loudly that Polterpup got spooked and ran away, "What do you mean you can't figure out how to close it!? For crying out loud, you are the _king_ of _boos!"_

"Look, _idiota!_ I get it! I did something stupid and now I have to ask my arch-nemesis to help me fix it! You don't have to rub it in!"

"You kidnapped Mario no less than _four times!_ I will rub it in as much as I want to!"

"Both of you, be quiet!" E. Gadd called from the other side of the room. 

Luigi sighed, massaging his temples.

"What makes you think I could help you anyway?" he hit King Boo with a death glare, "I have no power over the paranormal plane, and I can't control portals."

"Well, I guess we're doomed, then. Fantastic."

Polterpup whined, shivering behind a cardboard box.

"Hey, Puppy." Luigi knelt down and beckoned him with his arms, "I'm sorry I spooked you. C'mere."

Polterpup happily returned to his side, nuzzling his face with his cold nose.

"Hey there, Polterpup. Aw, you're so sweet. Who's a good boy?"

Polterpup wagged his tail excitedly, _Me me! I'm a good boy!_

King Boo rolled his eyes, "What is the deal with you and that dumb dog? He doesn't even do anything."

"King Boo, I am terrified of you, but I will fight you before I let you insult Polterpup!"

"Luigi." Mario said sternly, "We'll beat him up later."

Luigi dropped his glare, returning his attention to Polterpup, "Regardless, I don't think there's anything I can do to help. You're on your own."

"Come on! I don't know what else to do!" King Boo fell out of the air, sqashing into a flattened shape on the floor, "Ah, who am I kidding. We're all destined to die anyway."

"It's not my problem." Luigi said, "You caused this mess, so now you need to fix it."

Nobody spoke for awhile after that. Luigi was just glad that Mario and Polterpup were with him. Although, he couldn't help but feel that someone was missing...

"Wait." he lifted his head, "Where's...?"

"Luigi?"

Peach had returned. Her hair was in a messy ponytail, and she was followed by a few toads and ally ghosts.

Luigi felt himself moving towards her on autopilot, reaching out to take her hands. Seeing her again was such a relief, he could have cried again, but instead, he found himself staring silently.

_"Luigi."_

Luigi turned to Mario, who gave him a thumbs up.

Luigi swallowed the lump in his throat, "P-Princess...I..."

She listened tentatively. Luigi took a breath, forcing the words out before he could lose his nerve.

"I love you."

Peach's eyes widened before her face broke out in a wide smile.

"I was afraid you would never say anything!" she laughed, giving him a kiss on the nose, "I love you too!"

Luigi was shocked at first, but then his heart soared. He grew dizzy, only barely managing to stay on his feet. When he regained his balance, he took Peach's head in his hands. He kissed her forehead, then her cheek, and finally, her lips, where he lingered for some time. She wore strawberry lip gloss.

He pulled away from her, touching his mouth like he surprised himself at what he had just done.

"Oh my gosh, I can't believe I just did that!" Luigi's face turned beet red, "Was that okay, Princess? Did I mess it up?"

"No! That was beautiful!" Peach wiped her lip gloss from Luigi's face, "And please, call me Peach."

Luigi closed his eyes as she stroked his cheek, leaning into her touch with a soft sigh.

"That was my first kiss in six years." he laughed, "Did you know that?"

Peach tilted his head towards her, "And this is your second."

King Boo sank further into the floor, "Plumber, I did not escape from a space-bending vortex to watch you snog."

Luigi held up his pointer finger, still enraptured in the kiss.

"I think you've tormented him enough." Mario said, "The vortex can wait."

"Except that it _can't,_ you mind-numbing block-punching-!"

"Don't insult my brother, either." Luigi broke away from Peach, but he still held her hands, "God, I can't believe how soft your lips are. My moustache doesn't bother you?"

"Not at all. I love your moustache."

Luigi was sure he had cartoon hearts coming off his head now, "Aw, Peach. You flatter me!"

"EUREKA!"

E. Gadd's sudden exclamation startled everyone. He ran towards them, a glowing green substance suspended in a jar.

His smile split the length of his face, _"I got it!"_

***


	15. Chapter 15

The world appeared to move in slow motion as E. Gadd poured the contents of the jar on the ground. Gooigi emerged from the puddle. Glassy eyes, the cap with the letter "G" on it, reflecting Luigi's likeness in almost every way. At the same time, that little space in Luigi's head filled up again, and he could feel Gooigi's alarm and curiosity.

Luigi approached him, looking him up and down, "Gooigi?"

Gooigi didn't respond, though his head did tilt up a bit when he heard his name.

"Gooigi, are you okay? Can you hear me?"

"Hey, son." E. Gadd pushed him away, "He just went through a near-death experience. Give him a minute."

Gooigi lifted his hand to inspect it. A few different emotions went through him, including confusion, fear, and sadness. He locked eyes with Luigi, and the emotions shifted to grief, nostalgia, joy, and finally...recognition.

_Luigi._ Gooigi reached for him, _Luigi! It's you!_

"Gooigi!" Luigi hugged him tightly, "Gooigi, you're alive! I'm so relieved!"

Their shared feelings of joy bounced back and forth between them. It was so overwhelming that Luigi began to cry again, and Gooigi joined in soon after.

_I was certain that I was going to die._ Gooigi lamented, _I was terrified. I saw you, I thought you were drowning._

"I'm okay, Gooigi. Just a little scuffed." Luigi laughed through his tears, "You're okay, then? You're not hurt? No pain?"

_No, I'm fine, but I'm shocked._ he replied, _I never expected to be able to come back after that. How on earth did you save me?_

"It's a long story. I'm just glad Bowser is smart enough to have a filtration system for his water traps."

_But not smart enough to have a good generator._

"Right! Exactly!"

Gooigi's eyes suddenly snapped open as a rumble of thunder could be heard outside.

He began to tremble, _What is that? There's something...Luigi, what happened!?_

"Bad news!" E. Gadd was back at his computer, "There's a rip to the paranormal plane expanding rapidly around the castle!"

Luigi's gaze snapped to King Boo, who sneered at him.

Gooigi lifted an eyebrow, _Why is he here?_

Luigi ran to the manor's window, where Bowser's castle hung in the sky. A black hole was growing from the top of the highest spire towards the rest of the castle and towards them through the sky.

A barrage of crippling fear hit Luigi, but he didn't recognize it as his own.

"Gooigi!" Luigi stumbled over his feet running to his side, "Gooigi, what's going on? Talk to me!"

Gooigi's thoughts were too much of a garbled mess to clearly discern, but the message was obvious.

"Luigi, we need to stop that portal!" E. Gadd said, "If it spreads much farther, it could compromise our reality itself!"

"That's what I've been saying this whole time!" King Boo yelled in frustration, "But nooo, you had to ignore that so you could kiss your precious princess!"

Luigi's face flushed red.

_You kissed Princess Peach?_

"Uh, that isn't important right now!" Luigi turned away from King Boo, "E. Gadd, is it even possible for us to stop that thing!?"

"Not alone!" E. Gadd tossed something at him, "Use this!"

Luigi caught it. It looked like one of the illusion orbs, but much smaller and heavier.

"That will force the portal to collapse in on itself! But don't fall into it! Otherwise you may become trapped in the paranormal plane!"

Mario took Luigi's shoulder, "Luigi, you don't have to do this. You can leave it to us, we can handle it without you."

Luigi closed his eyes as he gathered himself, "I know I don't have to...but I _want_ to. I can do this, bro."

Mario smiled at him, "I know you can. Okay! Let's-a go!"

"Yeah!"

Orb in hand, Luigi ran from the manor. The ally ghosts were panicking as they watched the portal expand faster and faster.

Peach shouted at them, "Get away from that thing! _Run!"_

Luigi watched as the castle hovered too high to jump to, "What do we do!?"

"Luigi!" A mushroom-shaped starship landed beside him, the door opening up to reveal Captain Toad, "Get in!"

Luigi, Mario, and Peach all gathered inside, and the starship flew into the air.

Gooigi emerged from the Poltergust, _Does this ship have any windows?_

"Huh?" Luigi said, "I thought you stayed behind?"

Peach gazed outside the starship, "Eek! It's getting closer!"

_Wait! I have a better idea!_ Gooigi sat Luigi down, _Luigi, switch to me!_

Luigi dipped into Gooigi's head, catching himself slumping over through Gooigi's eyes. Immediately, he heard a deafening humming sound, and he quickly realized it was coming from Gooigi's body as the vortex vibrated the goo.

Luigi took the orb from himself, stashing it inside Gooigi's abdomen before climbing outside the ship. The vortex almost swallowed up their whole field of view. Working in tandem with each other, Gooigi reached out for a castle spire while Luigi loaded the orb into Gooigi's elbow like a slingshot. He hooked the arm around another castle spire, and just when the vortex was closing in on them, Luigi freed the arm from the second spire, launching the orb into the black void.

All sound cut out for a moment as space-time froze around them, then a huge implosion shook the planet and the sky cleared. Unfortunately, the force also knocked debris into the starship, and Luigi returned to his own body with a yelp.

Gooigi recalled as he forced himself into Luigi's mind, making his frozen limbs reach out to catch the princess-!

When Luigi came to, he had landed in the grass, on one knee, Peach in his arms.

"Woohoo!" Captain Toad cheered, "Luigi number one!"

_"Luigi number one!"_

Luigi was stunned as ally ghosts and toads alike surrounded him, cheering for him as he stood up.

Peach kissed his cheek, "Oh! My hero!"

Luigi set Peach on her feet, "Whoa. I mean, thank you, but I don't..."

"Hey, man. This is your victory!" Toadette was there too, "Let us cheer!"

Luigi frowned, "But I..."

_"Luigi."_

Luigi locked eyes with her.

She squeezed his arm, "Let us cheer."

Luigi didn't respond at first, but then he grinned.

"Wahoo!" he threw his fist into the air, "Luigi number one!"

_"LUIGI NUMBER ONE! LUIGI NUMBER ONE!"_

Luigi basked in the praise. He tried to be humble, but he had always wanted to be appreciated like this. He couldn't help the tears that fell from his face as he watched everyone cheer, his heart full of gratitude and pride.

Mario took Luigi's shoulders to push him further into the spotlight;

"Luigi number one! Wahoo!"

***

Luigi woke up feeling sluggish and slow. It had been about a week since his last adventure, and he cursed whatever had decided to wake him up at 7:30. He was so tired he could almost imagine melting into the mattress, becoming one with the Pillow Kingdom.

He had just begun to drift off again when he felt something cold nuzzle into his side.

"Polterpup..." Luigi hugged him, "Can't you let me sleep in for once?"

Polterpup curled into his side, insistently nudging him a few times.

"Alright, alright..." Luigi sat up, yawning and stretching, "I'm up, I'm up."

Polterpup left the room as Luigi climbed out of bed, wrapping his blanket around his shoulders to wander into the hallway.

"Now, Pup, what could possibly be so important that you had to drag me out of bed?"

"SURPRISE!"

Luigi leapt a foot in the air, the blanket falling to the floor. His friends had all gathered in the kitchen with a giant cake, confetti poppers, and a banner across the ceiling that read, "Happy Birthday, Luigi!"

Luigi's mouth opened and closed like a fish, "Wh-wha...?"

Mario was at the front of the crowd, "Did we surprise you?"

"Y-yes, but...Mario, we're twins. We have the same birthday."

"I know, but every time we celebrate our birthday together, one of us ends up overshadowed by the other." Mario wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "I can celebrate my birthday next week. Today is your special day. Alright?"

Luigi laughed, "Okay! Just, uh, let me go get dressed first."

The morning passed with flying colors. The cake was covered in vanilla icing, surrounded by green icing with Luigi's signature "L" on top. Mario delicately placed 32 candles around the edge, and the lights flicked off once all the candles were lit. Luigi blew them out in one breath.

The party moved to the living room, where a stack of presents sat in front of Luigi's favorite armchair. He sat down and picked the first one off the stack. He immediately knew it was from Princess Peach, as it was wrapped neatly in pink wrapping paper with a big red bow on top. He untied the bow and tore the wrapping paper off. Inside was a row of silk bowties, all in varying shades of green with different patterns on them. One had little yellow flowers all over it. Another was a solid shiny color, and was soft to the touch.

"Ooh." Luigi took a bowtie from the box, which had a plaid pattern on it, "These are beautiful."

"Thank you!" Peach knelt beside his chair, "I saw them in a store window, and they made me think of you."

Luigi tied the plaid bowtie around his neck, adjusting it to it lay straight along his collar, "Thank you, Peach! I love them!"

The next box was a bit of a surprise. It was wrapped in orange paper, and when Luigi opened it, he found a plush green hoodie and knitted scarf inside.

"Do you like it?"

Luigi looked up, "Princess Daisy!? What are you doing here? You live in Sarasaland!"

Daisy put her hands on her hips, "If you thought I was gonna miss your birthday, then you're dead wrong, plumber! My girlfriend is the one who suggested I get you something comfy!"

"Well, tell Pauline I said thank you."

"You're welcome!"

Mario's present was next. Luigi could tell it was Mario's because it was wrapped poorly and with different scraps of paper. He tore it open, revealing a mug with his green "L" on it, along with a box of tea.

"Heh hey!" Luigi spun the mug handle on his finger, "Now there's no question about which mug is mine!"

"And I got your favorite!" Mario said gleefully, "Red mushroom tea with cinnamon! Don't drink it all in one day."

"Oh, trust me. I'm going to savor this box for as long as I can."

He got a few other gifts, including a book about gadgets from E. Gadd, a compact LED flashlight from Captain Toad, and a telescope fitted with a compass from Toadette. He also got a lunchbox and a new flash for his camera, courtesy of Blue Toad and Yellow Toad, and he thanked each one of them wholeheartedly before moving on to the next gift. He even got a golden bone from Polterpup, and Luigi gave him many pats for that.

The last present was wrapped somewhat neatly, but it had scraps of paper glued to various holes where the main wrapping was too short to reach. It seemed very handmade, but it was also clear that the present was wrapped with a lot of care. There was also no tape holding the paper down, so that gave Luigi the final clue he needed to guess who had given him this gift. He only knew one person who left behind a slight sliminess on everything he touched, making tape unusable.

He opened this one with more care than the others, and when he lifted the object inside, his face broke out in a warm smile.

He was holding a wooden picture frame with a photo nestled behind smooth glass. The photo was taken just a week prior, when Luigi had taken Gooigi to Peach's castle. The two had their arms around each other, smiling for the camera with their free arms in the air. Luigi's free hand was the one that held the camera, looking down on them as they were surrounded by flowers.

Written on the glass with a red marker in swirly handwriting were the words;

_To my older brother, Luigi._  
_Thank you for teaching me the meaning of courage._  
_Sincerely, Gooigi._  


Luigi felt a tear fall, but he made no attempt to wipe it away.

Gooigi stood by his other side, _I know it's not as extravagant as what the others got for you, but I hope you like it regardless._

"I love it, Gooigi." Luigi sniffed, "I love it. Thank you."

Luigi set the empty boxes aside, standing from his chair to place the photo on the mantle over the fireplace. The light from the overhead lamp cast a golden glow on it. It was heavenly.

The party wrapped up not long after. Daisy had a long ride back to Sarasaland, Captain Toad had an adventure planned for his crew, and Peach and Toadette headed back to the castle. As Luigi and Gooigi left the house, they stumbled upon King Boo on the path out of town.

"Oh, hey, King Boo." Luigi rose his hand in a half-hearted wave.

"Hey, Plumber." King Boo sulked, "I just came to say that...you win. I won't try to steal your friends anymore."

Making sure he had heard right, Luigi said, "Wait, so...you'll leave us alone from now on?"

"Yeah. I know when I've been had." King Boo grinned in his evil way, "I must say, Luigi; I'm impressed! Few can say they've gone up against the king of boos and lived to tell the tale! I value my unlife more than that, so you have earned my mercy, and my grudging respect."

Luigi glanced at Gooigi, "Um...thank you?"

"But that doesn't mean your plight is over!" King Boo's laugh rang out in the empty field, "Bowser is not happy with you! I hope you're prepared to save your princess again!"

Luigi's heart soared all over again. Peach was _his_ princess. Not Mario's, but _Luigi's._ He didn't think it would feel this great to be so in love.

"Anyway, I have a midnight brooding session in five minutes, so I'll head back to my mansion. See you next time we go karting, Plumber!"

And with that, King Boo vanished in a puff of mist.

"Well..." Luigi took Gooigi's hand, "I guess this is goodbye?"

Gooigi hugged him, _I promise I'll be back next Saturday, as planned._

"Yep!" Luigi squeezed him, "I'm gonna miss you, Gooigi!"

_I'll miss you too. I'll take hundreds of photos for you._

They stayed like this until E. Gadd approached them from the brothers' house, "Come on, boys. Let's get a move on."

Gooigi broke away from him, _Thank you for everything, Luigi. For trusting me and for loving me and for teaching me. I can't wait until we meet again._

"Same. Promise me you'll stay safe?"

_I promise. Take care of yourself, alright?_

"I will."

E. Gadd fired up the TV portal, "Goodbye, Luigi. Safe travels!"

"You too!"

He climbed through the TV. Gooigi looked back as he was about to follow, and Luigi gave him a thumbs up. Gooigi returned the gesture, and before he knew it, he was gone.

Luigi stared at the path where he once stood before making his way back towards the house, his hands behind his head as he listened to the birds sing in the trees.

And he knew, from the bottom of his heart, that he would have given up anything for this.

THE END

**Author's Note:**

> Come say hi to me on tumblr! marshemillow.tumblr.com


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